Viewer ratings continue to decline… NTV’s “news zero” is in danger of being taken over by a program with no effect despite major adjustments.

Not so good results for “partner system

A source at Nippon TV says that “news zero” (Nippon TV) is in trouble. 4 years ago, the program had the highest average rating of 12%, but recently the numbers have been worsening.

Currently, the household viewership rate varies depending on the day of the week, but it is between 4 and 5%,” said one NTV official. When Yumiko Arido (55) was the main anchor, the ratings were 5 to 7%, so the ratings have dropped by 1 to 2%. Takahiko Fujii (53) has been the main anchor since April of this year, but the presence of Udo, who can deliver news from a woman’s perspective, was still valuable. In fact, TBS and Fuji Television also value this perspective and promote women as newscasters.

Fujii’s reputation within the station is not bad at all. However, the hole left by the loss of Udo seems to have been larger than expected. When Udo left “news zero,” Nippon TV reportedly tried to console her, but she was adamant about her decision.

TV Asahi made a sweet offer to her, and it seems that they also offered her a position on the “News Station. Because of this, Nippon TV was forced to revamp “news zero,” which did not have bad ratings, and decided to start “with MUSIC” in order to keep the relationship with Arifusa afloat.

There is even talk of discontinuing “with MUSIC,” and it has reached the point where it may or may not be leveraged. In fact, I would like to see Arif work on location or in interviews, but his priority is “Arif Times” (TV Asahi), and there is no room in his schedule.

In October, “news zero” introduced a system of partners for each day of the week for a period of three months. Currently, former “Keyakizaka 46” member Neru Nagahama, artist Tomoe Shinohara, and professional climber Keiyo Noguchi are participating. In addition, the program has shifted to a more female-oriented format, including the use of Natsuki Taki, who has returned from maternity leave, but “the struggle seems to be the same,” an entertainment professional analyzes.

Sho Sakurai’s Limitations Emerge

It seems that he has taken steps to adopt the “female perspective,” but why is it likely that he will not improve in the future? A person involved in the entertainment business commented.

During the Ariyuki era, the only celebrity to be used was Sho Sakurai. Since the nightly news requires a robust image, the station has been conscious of the affinity between the image of the celebrity and the news report. However, now that standard has become a bit of a cliché. So, for the time being, we are conducting an “experiment” by changing the Tuesday-Thursday partner every three months. But even if they appear only on certain days of the week, the viewers do not stick with them and the numbers do not respond.

Sakurai, the mainstay of the program, is not as strong as he was a few years ago, due in part to his marriage and other factors.

Even when Sakurai appears on the program, fans of Arashi rarely watch “news zero. The mismatch has deepened due to the headwind of the criticism of the office’s reporting stance on the sexual assault issue, and Sakurai has become jittery as a result.

(A source in the entertainment industry) Because “news zero” has just introduced a partner system, there has been no talk of termination of the program yet. The difficult situation continues, but even so, there was a glimmer of hope in the recent election for the House of Representatives.

The only hope is the viewer ratings for the special program on the recent Lower House election,” he said. Fujii and Sakurai’s “NNN House of Representatives Election zero Election 2024” went head-to-head with TV Asahi’s “Arido Times. The average household viewership for “Arimoto Times” was 9.7%, while that for “zero Election 2024” was 8.7%. Although they lost in the end, it is clear from the fact that they put up a good fight that what viewers want from “news zero” is to deal with news head-on. Next January A new partner is being selected for “news zero” starting next January on the condition that it can handle hard-hitting news.

News programs take time to become established. Since Fujii was replaced in April of this year, the station is supposed to wait and see for a year even if the numbers are not good. Even within the station, there is a feeling that if the numbers drop by 1-2%, they will give it a little more effort.

Will the station be able to regain its presence as the “face of the night” again?