TV Networks Compete for 300 Million Yen Rights to Arashi’s ‘Reunion Concert’ Next Spring

Commercial key broadcasters vying for broadcast rights to the concert

The 25th anniversary debut concert of “Arashi” is expected to take place next spring, and fans are in a state of ecstasy. An entertainment industry insider provides an explanation.

“This year marks their 25th debut anniversary, so the concert was originally scheduled for this November. However, due to delays in adjusting the distribution of concert revenues and merchandise sales between ‘Arashi Inc.’ and ‘STARTO ENTERTAINMENT’ (hereafter STARTO), it seems the event has been pushed to next spring. The likely date for the concert is during Golden Week. It will be a one-night-only event, and the National Stadium or the Nippon Budokan are the top candidates for the venue.”

Fukuda Atsushi, who became president of STARTO last December, has also been actively working on the revival of “Arashi.”

“Fukuda was trying to energize STARTO through the ‘Arashi’ concert. However, due to the time needed for adjusting rights and difficulties negotiating with the leader Ohno Satoshi (43), the concert had to be postponed,” said the insider.

There are reports that Ohno, the key figure in “Arashi’s” revival, will retire after the spring concert, but according to staff from Arashi Inc. and STARTO, “it’s not as simple as ending the activities,” said a record company employee.

“At one point, ‘Arashi’s’ fan club membership was estimated to exceed 3 million. Although some fans have left following their hiatus, the current number of members is unlikely to be under 2 million. The annual fan club membership fee is 4,000 yen, which generates about 8 billion yen in revenue per year. The future of ‘Arashi’ can’t be decided solely by the members’ wishes.”

Additionally, two major TV networks are vying for the concert rights.

“It’s said that NTV and Fuji TV are competing behind the scenes. The estimated broadcast rights fee is 300 million yen, which is equivalent to the cost of broadcasting one game of the World Series. Moreover, since NTV has ‘Hulu’ and Fuji TV has ‘Fujitv On Demand,’ they can easily recoup their costs by distributing the concert footage. High real-time viewership ratings are also highly anticipated. NTV, which has regular programs featuring Sho Sakurai (42), Masaki Aiba (41), and Kazunari Ninomiya (41), is seen as having a slight lead,” said a source from a major TV network.

NTV and Fuji TV are also known to have competed in introducing Shohei Ohtani’s (30) new residence, leading to a temporary “media pass freeze” from the Dodgers—something that still lingers as a concern.