Why Miyane-ya Can’t Let Go of Seiji Miyane Despite Losing to Gogosuma

Seiji Miyane, who was the ‘yokozuna’ of afternoon wide shows, is struggling as the host of ‘Joho Live Miyane-ya’ (Nippon TV). Since ’15, the latecomer TBS show ‘Gogosuma’ (host: Ryoji Ishii) has been broadcasted in the Kanto region, engaging in a close battle for viewership ratings.

“Since around ’21, there have been frequent occasions where Miyane-ya loses to Gogosuma. Even now, overall, Miyane-ya is more dominant, but Gogosuma is making intense advances,” (Sports newspaper reporter).

Recently, ‘SPA!’ has been distributing analytical articles comparing the viewership ratings of both programs, sparking discussions not only within the industry but also online. In the comments section,

“‘I wonder why Mr. Miyane is supported. It’s no longer unusual for him to interrupt others mid-sentence,’ (verbatim, same as above).”

“Even though Gogosuma has almost the same content as Miyane-ya, both Ishii and the commentators are gentle people, so I can watch it with a calm mind compared to Miyane-ya.”

There were many harsh comments directed towards the host, Miyane, such as those mentioned above.

However, within Yomiuri Television, which produces Miyane-ya, there is absolutely no talk of Miyane stepping down.

This is largely due to the fact that Yomiuri Television, based in Osaka, is responsible for production, not the key Tokyo station, Nippon Television.

“As the program’s name suggests, if they were to remove Miyane, they would naturally have to completely create a new program from scratch. This would also require coordination with affiliated stations like Nippon Television. In that case, there is a very high likelihood that NTV would demand the current broadcasting slot to be handed back,” said a Yomiuri Television official.

For a local station to have a nationwide network program is a great honor for the station. However, what’s even more significant is the revenue.

“The station producing a nationwide network program receives network fees from its affiliated stations. For a daily program like Miyane-ya, these fees can amount to a substantial sum.

 

 

In the case of Miyane-ya, Yomiuri Television receives network fees from Nippon Television and other affiliated stations. As a program, Miyane-ya is the most profitable for the station. That’s why they cannot easily relinquish its time slot,” said the same Yomiuri Television official.

Why did Nippon Television give up its valuable 2-hour slot starting at 2:00 PM in the first place?

Former regular guest on the preceding program ‘The Wide,’ entertainment reporter Toshio Ishikawa reveals the inside story.

“NTV decided they no longer needed wide shows as viewership for ‘The Wide,’ jointly produced with Yomiuri TV in Tokyo, gradually declined. However, Yomiuri TV persisted. At the time, Seiji Miyane, who was hosting ‘Geki Tele★Friday’ on Kansai local TV Friday evenings, revamped it into Miyane-ya and started broadcasting at the current time slot.”

After ‘The Wide’ ended in ’07, NTV aired drama reruns, but ratings continued to drop. Meanwhile, Yomiuri TV marketed Miyane-ya to regional stations outside the Kanto area, expanding its network.

“Under these circumstances, NTV was pressured by affiliate voices to start airing Miyane-ya half a year later. The show had many excellent staff members from ‘The Wide’ era, and above all, Seiji Miyane, despite criticisms, remains a TV star with solid ratings,” said Ishikawa.

Despite relinquishing the two-hour slot due to this history, Nippon Television is now meticulously eyeing it.

“In fact, it’s not the Content Production Department that used to produce wide shows like ‘The Wide,’ but the News Department that desires this slot. This is because at the time ‘The Wide’ ended, Fuji Television with Yuuko Ando anchoring the evening news had become strong, and NTV’s ratings were not good.

So, they gave up on the live broadcast that incurred production costs. Now, our ‘news every’ has the top ratings. Internally, there is a desire to broadcast news programs produced by the News Department from the 2 PM to 6 PM slot. Yomiuri TV understands these circumstances. Despite some struggles, they can’t remove Mr. Miyane,” (NTV official).

Yomiuri Television is determined to defend its lucrative nationwide network, while Nippon Television, led by its News Department, wants to reclaim the broadcasting slot. The reason they insist on continuing ‘Miyane-ya’ at all costs seems to be rooted in these internal dynamics within the NTV network.