Negotiating “300 million yen broadcasting rights” to commercial broadcasters due to deteriorating relations with NHK… STARTO’s intention behind the “Arashi” revival live performance.

Revival Live” to be held next year

Despite expectations, the memorable month ended without incident.

This November was the 25th anniversary of the debut of “Arashi”. However, there was no reunion of the five members. Although fans were disappointed, it is said that arrangements are now being made to hold a “revival live” concert at either the National Stadium or the Nippon Budokan during the Golden Week holidays next year. A senior executive of an entertainment company said that the leader of the group, Ono Satoshi (44), is the key person in this process.

The reason for the postponement of the revival concert is simply that Ono did not give his blessing. Ono, who has become a bottleneck in the group, is said to be in a state of moody ups and downs. I hear he is troubled by the fact that even recently there was incorrect information about Ohno’s arrest.”

Coincidentally, in late November, the wrong information that Ohno had been arrested for violation of the Marijuana Control Law was spread by an influencer’s post on X. In response, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (hereinafter referred to as “STARTO”) announced on its website on November 30 that it “strongly denies the fact of the false content of the article/post,” and the influencer also corrected the error. The situation appears to be under control.

The number of “Arashi” fan club members is said to be around 3 million, and the group still enjoys strong support. It is also true that this is a major source of support for STARTO.

The annual membership fee is 4,000 yen, so even a simple calculation yields an income of 12 billion yen. But Ohno won’t go along with it, and if we force the concert, it could cause a rift between the members. As a compromise, a 25th anniversary concert is being planned for next year’s Golden Week, one year later than the previous year. In addition, a long-awaited nationwide tour is being contemplated for 2014.

Furthermore, the revival live concert is expected to take an “unusual approach. What’s more, the revival live concert is expected to be broadcast live on terrestrial TV.

A producer at a key station reveals the inside story.

In addition to ticket and merchandise sales, it would be more profitable for STARTO to offer its own live broadcasts on YouTube and other media. However, behind the scenes, there is a desire to repair the relationship between STARTO and the TV stations. In order to rebuild the relationship that has been severed since the sex abuse issue came to light, they are trying to play the “concert broadcasting rights” card, which is their most powerful weapon.

Currently, Fuji Television Network and Nippon Television Network are competing for the broadcasting rights, which are said to be worth more than 300 million yen. On the other hand, a producer at a key station said, “There is no way STARTO will let go of the sweet nectar of distribution rights.

There is now a proposal that the TV stations will broadcast the concert on terrestrial TV on the first day, but STARTO will have the distribution rights. The TV stations would only have the terrestrial broadcasting rights, with no TVer distribution. STARTO would get its money back from the distribution. It’s a win-win situation for both parties.

Impatience in the “Kohaku” zero slot

NHK’s “no easy compromise” attitude is also driving STARTO to strengthen its pipeline with other stations.

The reason STARTO values its relationships with TV stations is to curb the talent exodus. Now that they can no longer rely on NHK, they may be thinking of reemphasizing relationships with other stations as well.

On the other hand, behind the scenes, they are also aiming to rebuild their relationship with NHK.

NHK is attractive to talent who focus on their acting careers. First of all, NHK pays higher salaries for terrestrial broadcasting, BS Premium, and NHK Plus. NHK also has ample production costs, which are 1.5 to 2 times higher than those of commercial broadcasters. This means that good productions can be made, and since NHK’s productions are checked by content buyers from around the world, there is a high possibility of attracting attention overseas. Therefore, there must be many talents who would like to appear on NHK. After rebuilding relationships with commercial broadcasters, there is no doubt that they would like to resume business with NHK as well.

Behind the mega-content of “Arashi,” there are a variety of agendas. We hope that the fans who continue to support the group four years after its hiatus will be rewarded. ……