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:
- There has been an increase in top-down communication within the organization.
- 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.
