Odoru Daisousasen Re-runs Boost Fuji TV’s Happy Hour Slot

To celebrate the release of the “Odoru Daisousasen” series’ new films, past installments were broadcast in a special marathon. This has been well-received by viewers, and Fuji TV is experiencing a resurgence in popularity.

In commemoration of the series’ first new movie in 12 years, “Shinji Muroi: The Unconquered” (released October 11) and the upcoming “Shinji Muroi: The One Who Continues to Live” (scheduled for November 15), past films such as “Odoru Daisousasen THE MOVIE”, “Odoru Daisousasen THE MOVIE 2: Close the Rainbow Bridge!”, and “Odoru Daisousasen THE MOVIE 3: Free Them!” were aired. These broadcasts achieved a peak ranking of 18th overall in the weekly ratings, with the movie category securing the top spot in all cases (according to Video Research, from September 23 to October 13).

Fuji Television’s most difficult time slot to obtain viewer ratings

“Every Tuesday, the weekly TV ratings rankings from major newspapers and sports papers are published, listing about 20 to 30 programs. However, Fuji TV’s shows have long been absent from these rankings, which has become the norm. Given that, the fact that they managed to rank this time has caused quite a stir within the network.

From September 16, the Kanto-local rerun slot ‘Happy Hour’ (Part 1: 13:50–14:48, Part 2: 14:48–15:45) aired reruns of the drama ‘Odoru Daisousasen’ (all 11 episodes), which became a major topic of conversation. Within the network, there have been calls to continue airing past works in this time slot.” (TV magazine writer).

In this time slot, other networks are fiercely competing, with “Information Live Miyane-ya” (NTV) and “Gogo Sma-GO GO! Smile!” (TBS) battling it out. Since April of this year, NHK has also launched a live news program, “Afternoon LIVE News Scene”, starting at 15:10. TV Asahi has been rerunning hit dramas like “Aibou”, “Kasouken no Onna”, and “Doctor X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon”, maintaining steady performance. For Fuji TV, this has been the most difficult time slot to achieve high ratings.

Fuji TV had high hopes for announcer Genta Aoki.

“Within Fuji TV, there were discussions about turning this time slot into a version of Kansai Television’s (Kantele) “Shunkan Live Totto Tekkatte!” (formerly “Totte Tate!”), a program that had been airing since October of the previous year. The expanded holiday edition of Totte Tate! was also aired after “Poka Poka” (Weekdays 11:50 AM–1:50 PM) for that reason. Totte Tate! featured former Nippon Television announcer Genta Aoki (41) as the MC and was designed with national broadcasts in mind from the start.

“Information Live Miyane-ya and Gogo Sma succeeded by expanding from regional broadcasts to national networks, so Fuji TV was clearly hoping to replicate that success with Totte Tate!. However, the ratings did not rise as expected, and it was reported that they abandoned the nationwide broadcast plan in May of this year” (Production company director).

Fuji TV has a bitter memory of afternoon talk shows. From 2015, the nationwide broadcast “Direct hit LIVE Goody!” aired in this time slot. Prior to that, “Happikuru!” (Kantele) had been airing in the Kansai region since 2011, achieving high ratings.

“However, when Fuji TV launched ‘Chokugeki LIVE Goody!’ (also ‘Goody!’), they were adamant about having a nationwide broadcast and ended Happikuru! despite its strong performance. Goody! was completely unsuccessful in Kansai, which led to frustration from Kantele executives who felt they should have kept Happikuru! on air. This incident created a significant rift between Kantele and Fuji TV over the time slot” (Wide show scriptwriter).

Fuji TV Saved by Its Past Programs

When Goody! ended in September 2020, Fuji TV had no choice but to rebrand the time slot as “Happy Hour,” dedicating it to reruns of past dramas.

“Thanks to Odoru Daisousasen, we’ve realized that rerunning classic dramas gets better ratings than airing a wide variety of shows. Going forward, we’ll likely continue with the Happy Hour block instead of doing a talk show,” said a wide show scriptwriter.

Looking back, the Bay Area Police Station and the Rainbow Bridge were brought into the national spotlight by Odoru Daisousasen, which also helped elevate the image of Fuji TV after its move to Odaiba. Now, with Fuji TV struggling in the ratings, it seems they’ll have to rely on past hits like Odoru Daisousasen for the time being.

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