Mid-Year 2024 Anonymous Entertainment Roundtable Reveals Matsumoto Hitoshi’s Insights and Behind-the-Scenes Stories of Marriages and Independence Rush
TV people, sports newspaper desks, and reporters will say whatever they want to say!
The year 2024 in the entertainment world began with the shocking news of ‘Downtown’ Hitoshi Matsumoto (60) taking a break from activities, while he continued to reign at the top of the comedy world. Starting from April, ‘STARTO ENTERTAINMENT,’ which took over the operations of the former ‘Johnny & Associates’ dismantled due to the sexual abuse scandal by the late Johnny Kitagawa, officially launched. However, it has been a tumultuous start with a succession of talent independence and marriages.
On the other hand, big news is continuously breaking as long-time scandal-free stars like Haruka Ayase (39), Kasumi Arimura (31), and Hana Sugisaki (26) have their serious relationships exposed, keeping entertainment media extremely busy.
Therefore, we held a roundtable discussion with A, a key network director; B, a sports newspaper entertainment desk; and C, a veteran entertainment reporter. They discussed the behind-the-scenes stories and future of the tumultuous first half of the year in the entertainment industry.
A: “It’s been about eight months since Hitoshi Matsumoto disappeared from television. Recently, he resumed his X account with nearly 10 million followers. Seeing the thousands of replies wishing for his return to his SNS posts, it’s clear that he still has significant influence and charisma. However, it’s also true that the television industry continues to function without him. Even if Matsumoto wins his court case, the deteriorated image and the high fees—said to be at least 1.5 million yen per show—will likely be a barrier, so there won’t be many producers eager to hire him right away.”
B: “I’ve heard that there are programs where the upper management has instructed to cut any scene where the word ‘Matsumoto’ is mentioned. As television networks increasingly prioritize sponsor preferences, it makes sense that they would avoid using Matsumoto, whom clients and housewives dislike. Given that he has stated he will focus on the court case, he won’t be coming back for a while. Programs like ‘Sake no Tsumami ni Naru Hanashi’ (Fuji TV) and ‘IPPON Grand Prix’ (Fuji TV), which were primarily his, have now become established with substitutes. Since they are functioning well without him, reopening the path for his return is quite difficult. At the very least, a return to television this year seems unlikely. If he were to reappear, what form could it take?”
C: “The most likely scenario is ‘Documental.’ Since that show is presented as a Matsumoto project, it’s irreplaceable. Similarly, ‘FREEZE,’ which is distributed on Amazon Prime Video and produced by Matsumoto, is set to air as scheduled, and Matsumoto’s comment during his hiatus generated some buzz. Compared to terrestrial TV, the barriers to appearing on these platforms are lower.”
