Production cost is only 2 million yen… The “hierarchy at the top of key stations” is collapsing as production companies and talent leave terrestrial broadcasting.

Fuji Television has finally come this far. ……

Mr. A, a producer in charge of variety programs at a TV program production company, lamented, “Fuji Television has finally come to this point. He was shocked to hear the budget for the late-night show from an old acquaintance of his at Fuji Television.

He was astonished when he heard the budget for the program. This is insane. ……

Readers may not have the slightest idea of what he was talking about, but TV people will understand that this is a level of “price destruction. The cost of the talent, makeup, stylists, and writers, the cost of sets and props, location vehicles, box lunches, camera and lighting equipment rental, studio fees, and editing costs are all kept within 2 million yen, and the profit is covered as well.

In the heyday of Fuji Television, the production cost of a one-hour program was 50 million yen in prime time (19:00-23:00) and 10 million yen even in the late-night slot. That’s what …… YouTubers spend much more money on. I know that 2 million yen is not enough to make a good show, but if I don’t submit a project, I won’t get assigned work. That’s why I dare to come up with a project that is not compliant, something that the key stations don’t like (laughs). (Laughs.) Because if the project goes through, we will definitely lose money.

Since the Showa period (1926-1989), many Japanese TV programs have been supported by production companies. Most projects originated from the production companies, with only a few staff members coming to the site, and the production companies handling the majority of the work. However, the hierarchy that has been established at the top of terrestrial TV stations is now collapsing.

For both variety and drama productions, I have started taking interesting projects to Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ first. Foreign-capitalized platforms offer ample production budgets and are more tolerant of compliance. When we take the same project to key stations, they often reject it, saying, “We don’t have the budget,” or “It’s impossible from a compliance standpoint.

It is not easy to get a project accepted on a distribution platform, but as long as it is accepted, they will sign a contract that takes into consideration the rights for secondary use, which is not possible with terrestrial broadcasting. Many production companies are now thinking hard about projects for distribution rather than for television,” said Mr. A.

(Mr. A) The thinking of the talent on the other side of the stage is also changing.

Young talent, especially comedians, are not as attached to terrestrial broadcasting as they used to be. To be frank, it is a matter of the pay. Young comedians who have just started appearing on TV are paid a few tens of thousands of yen at most for long hours spent recording, but with YouTube, if they win, the profit can be dozens of times that amount. Most entertainment agencies pay their talent a higher percentage of YouTube earnings than they do for TV appearances, and there are even some agencies where the talent’s share is 100%. There are an increasing number of comedians, such as Onikoshi Tomahawk and Reiwa Roman, who won last year’s M-1 Grand Prix, who have publicly stated that terrestrial TV work is not their top priority. (entertainment industry executive).

Is it true that the budget for a new late-night show is 2 million yen? What is the basis for this calculation? Fuji Television’s public relations department told Friday Digital

We do not provide production details. In general, budgets vary depending on the content and length of the program.

According to Mr. A, the theme of the late-night program that Fuji Television sought with a production cost of 2 million yen was “a program that can become a regular on prime time in the future.