Beyond Yoko Oshita: Who’s Next for Wide! Scramble Saturday?

The deep trust placed in Anchor Oshita

It was reported on February 10 by Sponichi and Sports Hochi that TV Asahi announced that “Wide! Scramble” would be scheduled as the successor to “Nakai Masahiro’s Saturday Night Show,” which is ending.

However, since there is only about a month until the new program airs, there is hardly any time to gather new staff. Therefore, some have speculated that “Yoko Ooshita (54) might also be in charge on Saturdays.”

“Wide! Scramble” started in April 1996 as an afternoon information program on the network, initially hosted by KiyokoSuizenji (79) and former NHK announcer Katsuhiro Nakamura (74). Later, male anchors such as Baku Owada (74), Daijiro Hashimoto (78), and TV Asahi’s Takashi Terasaki (62) took on the role. Ooshita became part of the show in 1998, and it was renamed “Ooshita Yoko Wide! Scramble” in April 2019.

“A female station announcer becoming the main anchor of a network’s flagship show is rare for commercial TV stations in Tokyo, and having her name in the title is proof of the trust the station has in her. However, it’s unlikely that Ooshita will also take on Saturdays,” said a veteran staff member of the wide-show.

“Ooshita starts preparing for the show from before 6 AM, even though the program doesn’t start until 10:25 AM. Given that she already handles the main show from Monday to Friday, it’s likely that she will leave Saturdays to a younger announcer. TV Asahi changed the title of ‘Sunday LIVE!!’ to match the weekday morning program ‘Good! Morning’ after the retirement of Noriyuki Higashiyama (58), which resulted in a big success with Naoyuki Hiraishi (50) taking over the weekend anchor role.

For those at the station who do not want to lose the wide-show culture, it seems like a pleasant surprise that they can rely on station announcers to handle the program while also achieving good viewership ratings. It’s highly likely that “Wide! Scramble” on Saturdays will also have a female announcer as the main MC.”

 

Which announcer has the attitude of “I’ll do anything!”?

So, who is the top candidate for the female announcer? The frontrunner is said to be Mai Shimamoto (41).

“After the end of ‘Saturday’s Show,’ Shimamoto immediately posted a thank-you message to the viewers on Instagram. She is a very thoughtful announcer and has reached the level of a veteran, but she still maintains the attitude of ‘I’ll do anything!’ She is highly regarded by the male commentators she works with, with them saying, ‘She is really capable.’ I’ve heard that there are plans to keep regular guests like Noritoshi Furuichi (40) and Hideo Yanagisawa (71) after April. There’s a good chance that Shimamoto will slide into the role,” said a director from a production company.

Compared to other networks, TV Asahi seems to be actively using its own announcers in news and wide shows. In the early morning program “Good! Morning,” the sports commentators who had been used for years were all graduated by September 2024, and now it’s mainly handled by Naoki Tsuboi (55) and Chiharu Saito (28).

“Announcers like Sari Sumida (30) and Maya Ki (32) have a long tenure in news programs, so they have a sense of stability. Yukino Yamamoto (33), who handles entertainment segments and interviews talent, is known for her cheerful character that’s different from typical announcers. In other words, TV Asahi’s female announcers have a lot of hidden talent compared to other networks.

Also, Naoko Kubota (43), who fills in as the main host during Yoko Ooshita’s summer and winter holidays on ‘Yoko Oshita’s Wide! Scramble,’ is versatile enough to handle variety shows. Other strong candidates for the main role on Saturday’s ‘Wide! Scramble’ include the highly popular Mariko Do (43), known for her stable news reading, and Misaki Hayashi (34),” said a TV magazine writer.

TV Asahi’s announcers are known for their solid skills in news reading, without much flash, but with a dependable image. One reason for this is said to be the high level of unity within their announcer room.

 

The most common type of marriage within the network is between announcers from the same station

“You can see it by looking at the top announcer, Ooshita, but overall, the announcers at the station tend to have a calm and serious image. The backup system between programs is well-organized, and many are quick to raise their hands and say, ‘I’ll do it,’ even for sudden replacements. There also seems to be no gender barriers.

Perhaps because of this, in fact, couples who have married within the same station are by far the most common in comparison to other networks. Honestly, other stations sometimes find the closeness a bit off-putting, but I view it as one of the strengths of TV Asahi’s announcer room,” said a director.

With that in mind, it’s certain that Ooshita can trust her juniors to take over with ease.