Former TV Tokyo Producer Discusses Growing Trend in TV Stations on N-Spec Following Interference Call After Broadcast

The reason for the poor performance of “Omusubi”?

What television can proudly claim in its battle against streaming is the close relationship it has built with talent agencies over its long broadcasting history, a bond that cannot be severed no matter what.

With the recent release of the old Johnny’s (referred to as “Old J”) content by NHK, I believe everyone has come to realize this. This is also the cause of the poor performance of the morning drama Omusubi.

Toshihiko Tabuchi, a former producer at TV Tokyo who became a topic of discussion for his appearance on NHK Special examining the Johnny’s sexual abuse issue, and now a professor at the School of Arts and Culture at the University of Obirin, says that the intensification of two tendencies at television stations is confusing the Omusubi production team.

Also from his actual experience and discussion in “N-Speak”

In my previous article for FRIDAY Digital, I published an analysis on NHK’s morning drama Omusubi. In that piece, I pointed out the pros and cons of the effort to create a distinction between the Tokyo Bureau (A System) and the Osaka Bureau (B System), which handles the morning drama. I also focused on the heroine’s image in the drama, comparing the past 10 years and highlighting the characteristics of both the A and B systems.

This time, I would like to approach Omusubi from a different perspective.

My analysis is that the cause of the poor performance of Omusubi lies in a certain trend that has been becoming more prominent in television stations in recent years. These trends can also be observed from my experiences and insights shared during my appearance on NHK Special (referred to as N-Speak) – Johnny Kitagawa: The Real Picture of the Idol Empire. I will provide concrete examples to support this analysis.

What is the certain trend that is becoming more and more noticeable in TV stations?

What is the “trend in television stations” causing the poor performance of Omusubi? It can be attributed to the following two factors:

1. There has been an increase in top-down communication within the organization.
2. The power of talent agencies has grown stronger.

First, I will explain the trend of “an increase in top-down communication within the organization,” starting with point (1).

On November 5th, Tokyo Shimbun quoted a comment from Kozo Nagata, a professor at Musashi University who worked on the documentary program for N-Speak. He mentioned that at NHK, program production proceeds independently of the management’s intentions, and that documentaries prioritize the issues at hand, and in principle, they are not made according to upper management’s directives. However, I would like to point out that this is not entirely accurate.

This becomes immediately apparent when watching the actual program. Despite the program being about the serious issue of sexual abuse, interviews with people who were involved at the time were not included. The director, Yuichiro Nakagawa, had wanted such interviews, but they were not realized.

Given these circumstances, it’s possible that there were directives from upper management affecting the production process. Some readers might think, “Wouldn’t that make things difficult for the production team?” But from my own experience, I can confirm that this is how organizations like NHK operate.

 

The production company, related organizations, NHK itself, and three producers.

During my time working at TV Tokyo (hereafter referred to as “TV Tokyo”) and on loan to its affiliated production company, TV Tokyo Production, I worked on numerous documentaries for NHK, including Kousen Robocon. When NHK commissions program production to a production company, it sometimes involves related organizations such as NHK Enterprise or NHK Global Media Services. In such cases, three producers (hereafter referred to as “P”) from the production company, the related organizations, and NHK itself become involved. What happens in this scenario?

The editing preview process usually starts with the producer from the production company and the producer from the related organization. The producer from the related organization issues revisions. However, when the producer from NHK checks the material, the instructions from the producer of the related organization are often overturned.

This is a typical pattern during the production stage. The real problem comes afterward. Since the producer from the related organization is usually seconded from NHK, and in some cases has more seniority than the NHK producer, the instructions from the NHK producer can be overturned by the producer from the related organization. What happens then?

The instructions for editing corrections can end up going in circles, like “A⇒B⇒A⇒B,” resulting in a situation that is like an unfunny gag. Naturally, this creates chaos on the production floor, with everyone scrambling in confusion.

From this example, it is clear that the nature of NHK as an organization can sometimes sever communication with the production team. A producer from NHK might transmit the instructions or intentions of upper management as if they were their own ideas, which can result in dysfunction. In a huge organization like NHK, where many people are involved in program production, it has become increasingly difficult to align everyone’s intentions, leading to dysfunction. In fact, this may already be widespread.

Even in public broadcasting, the disconnection between upper management and the production team and the trend of top-down communication have become more intense. In private broadcasting, this tendency is even more pronounced. Through my experience with N-Speak, I have deeply felt this shift. I’ve mentioned this on my blog before, but I want to reassert the connection between this issue and the ongoing situation.

A phone call I received the day after “N-Speak” aired.

The origin of this issue lies in a phone call I received the day after the broadcast.

The caller was an executive from TV Tokyo’s public relations department. This person, a junior colleague of mine, started by saying “Long time no see,” before beginning to speak about something astonishing.

The message was this: “We’ve been receiving many phone calls from viewers at the switchboard, and it’s causing a problem,” “There is unrest within the production department (the team making the program),” “Therefore, we ask that you no longer use the title ‘Former TV Tokyo,’” and “Additionally, please refrain from talking or writing about your experiences during your time at TV Tokyo.” These were the four main requests.

As I listened to the conversation, I could feel a thought gradually rising in my mind.

“Wait a minute, isn’t this a violation of basic human rights?”

For a more detailed analysis, I encourage you to read my blog. But from this example, it’s clear that not long ago, one could easily recognize that this was an issue of corporate governance, yet now, people in high positions are issuing directives to those who have left, bypassing any serious reflection on the matter.

This could be attributed to a decline in personnel quality at television stations, but on the other hand, there are also circumstances that suggest a sense of urgency, where they are in a situation where they can’t afford to care about appearances anymore.

Currently, television stations are highly concerned with negative evaluations on social media and the internet. In the drama Inappropriate Beyond Measure! which aired on TBS in the first quarter of 2024, a producer was shown constantly checking social media during the broadcast, reacting emotionally to each comment—this, in reality, reflects the current state of things.

With increasing focus on compliance, TV stations fear that negative reviews will harm their reputation and brand value, leading to a visible reputation risk. As a result, there has been an increase in interference with the production teams and lower-level staff.

However, in focusing so much on reputation risks, if stations end up engaging in actions that violate basic human rights, like in this instance, they risk losing everything.

In the past, management at stations respected the views of the production teams, following an unwritten rule of protecting each other’s territory. But now, most individuals prioritize their own self-preservation first. When a problem arises, they are afraid of being blamed and lack the courage to take responsibility. Ultimately, the people in charge are increasingly disconnected from the production teams and creators.

The tendency became apparent during NHK’s regular press conference on October 16, led by Chairman Nobuo Inaba. While defending his position, Inaba stated that the decision was not made with Kohaku‘s production in mind, yet remarked that a contract could be made based on the judgment of the production team. This statement is concerning, as it appears to shift the responsibility onto the production team, implying that if the team makes the judgment, it can’t be helped, which is problematic.

 

 

Opinions from the top “I feel that there are more now than before.”

In interpreting the November 5th Tokyo Shimbun comment from Kozo Nagata, he mentions that documentary programs prioritize the awareness of the production team, and are generally not created based on directives from upper management.

The key term here is generally, which implies exceptions. Not every program is micromanaged; doing so would be too time-consuming and inefficient. However, certain programs, such as NHK Special, Close-up Gendai, and iconic drama series like Taiga Drama and Asadora (morning dramas), are under the NHK banner and thus, considered “exceptions” to this principle.

To investigate the internal situation, I interviewed people involved in multiple N-Special productions. They acknowledged that opinions from upper management had increased compared to the past. These opinions had a particular characteristic: they weren’t direct orders but rather suggestions or ideas passed down.

As a result, what happens on the production side? Since many different people give various opinions from different perspectives, the team gets confused. This mirrors the earlier example where editorial corrections kept changing, resulting in a “back-and-forth” editing process that delayed progress.

Based on these observations, it’s easy to imagine that similar issues are affecting the production of Omusubi. The show has faced criticism from various websites and articles regarding its content, and its ratings could potentially set a record for the worst in the history of NHK’s morning dramas.

Naturally, this results in the confusion of giving opinions without forcing actions or taking responsibility, a top-down management approach that likely contributes to the chaotic nature of Omusubi—where it is unclear whether it’s a social drama, a family drama, or a story of a woman’s rise to success. This situation is a direct reflection of the increasing trend in the television industry of top-down directives.

In the next installment, I will examine the second trend: the growing power of talent agencies.

For the second part, a former TV TOKYO P who appeared in “N Supe” talks about the reality of “the ‘power’ of talent agencies to which broadcasters must conform.