Akashiya Sanma Leads Save Fuji Movement

The cost of salaries, expenses, and program production is mounting.

Who will save Fuji Television from the crisis?

The furor sparked by TV personality Masahiro Nakai’s (52) troubles with women has spread to Fuji, resulting in the suspension of commercials and programs.

The number of sponsors who have turned down Fuji is now over 80. The movement has spread to affiliated local stations as well, dealing a heavy blow to Fuji’s business.

Fuji’s broadcasting revenue from April to September 2012 was a massive 71.2 billion yen. A simple calculation puts this at about 12 billion yen per month, but if commercials are postponed, this amount of money will be blown away every month.

Since it is Fuji Media Holdings’ policy to reimburse sponsors for the cost of commercials switched to AC Japan from January onward, some estimate that the damage caused by the series of disturbances could exceed 50 billion yen.

“While Fuji Media Holdings as a whole is performing steadily in the real estate and urban development sectors, Fuji TV as a broadcasting station is expected to see a significant downward revision in its financial results for the March period. The key factor will be the findings of the third-party committee, which are set to be released by the end of March. They are hoping to somehow halt the sponsor exodus at this stage.” (National newspaper economic journalist)

 If advertising revenue declines, the cost will fall on the salaries and expenses of the station’s employees and on program production costs. In particular, the latter, combined with the rise of Internet media, has led to a decline in advertising revenue.

“Only about half the production budget from 10 years ago is available.” (Fuji TV insider)

This is where the series of disturbances could put the final nail in the coffin.