“Goodbye Generation Z” Trend by NTV to Attract Senior Viewers
Johnny’s (now known as SMILE-UP.), which has sent numerous talents to singing shows, TV dramas, and variety shows, has come to the end of its more than half-century history, and the TV production scene is now at a major turning point.
The casting of TV stations has been drastically changing, as the Japanese talents who have long supported TV as “main players” are no longer being used one after another.
Another major policy change is taking place. This is a review of the “core ratings” (ratings for men and women aged 13-49), which have become an established guideline for programming, not only among TV people but also among the viewing public.
“For the past two to three years, commercial broadcasters, led by NTV, have been making great efforts to attract younger viewers. But this year, they have shifted their focus in the opposite direction. This year, however, the direction has shifted in the opposite direction, to ‘Good-bye Generation Z.'” says a producer at a production company.
Generation Z was born between the late 1990s and 2012, and was the first generation to have access to the Internet at birth. TV stations aim to attract sponsors by tapping into the young viewers of Generation Z, who will have strong purchasing power in the future.
“The TV stations have tried to attract young viewers by inviting YouTube stars and influencers to appear on their programs as guests who are popular with Generation Z. They have also tried various methods to attract young viewers, such as using TikTok, Korean sweets, vending machines and gacha (toy vending machines), but this has not resulted in any increase in viewer ratings,” according to the producer mentioned earlier.
Instead, the trend since this summer has been to “bring in senior viewers once again,” according to the producer with a wry smile.
“I’ve been told by upper management, ‘Cast the talent that seniors like for their aunts and uncles!’ The hottest talents are Ammika (51) and Tomio Umezawa (72). Don’t you think you’ve been seeing them on TV a lot lately?”
