Nino-san Moves to Golden Time as NTV Gains Lead in Arashi Competition

It was recently announced that “Nino-san” on Nippon Television, in which Kazuya Ninomiya (41) of the popular group “Arashi,” who has been on hiatus since 2009, will move from its current Sunday morning broadcast to the Friday 7 p.m. slot and enter the golden zone (GP slot, 7-10 p.m.) in October. The program has been on the air since the beginning of the 13th.

The program was broadcast in the midnight slot when it first began in April ’13, but moved to Sunday noon six months later in October of the same year, and to Sunday morning in April ’20. The “Nino-san Family,” including Fuma Kikuchi (29) of “timelesz (former Sexy Zone),” a regular and junior member of Ninomiya, Tomonori Jinnai (50), Takashi Yoshimura (44), Nao Asahi (30), Gambareruya, and 3 o’clock heroine, will continue to work on the show after the transition. The “Nino-san Family,” including Takashi Yoshimura (50), Takashi Yoshimura (44), Nao Asahi (30), Gambareluya, and Heroine at 3:00, will continue to appear on the show.

In moving to a new slot, Ninomiya said, “I’m sure there are people who like the current Sunday morning slot. I feel sorry for those people.” “I want to keep it the same so that both the existing customers and the Friday 7:00 p.m. customers can enjoy it,” he commented.

The average household rating for the most recent broadcast on July 28 was 6.6% (Video Research, Kanto region). It was the second highest viewership rating in the same time slot after “Sunday Japon” (TBS). However, it is far behind “Wide Na Show” (Fuji Television Network).

While there are many patterns of moving from the late-night time slot to the golden time slot, it is quite unusual for a morning program to move into the GP slot not as a special program, but as a frame shift. Compared to other stations, this highlights how “preferential” Nippon TV is to the members of Arashi,” said a reporter in charge of broadcasting.