Morning TV Ratings Battle Escalates as Mezamashi TV Ends at 8:14

The extended broadcast time of Mezamashi TV overlaps with the “Morning Drama”

In the world of wide shows on various networks, the term morning drama countermeasures exists.

In the past, NHK’s Asadora (morning drama) began at 8:15 AM and ended at 8:30 AM, and private broadcasters’ wide shows and news programs started at 8:30 AM, right after Asadora ended.

However, after the broadcast of GeGeGe no Nyobo in early 2010, the start time of Asadora was moved up from 8:15 to 8:00, which forced private networks to implement further measures. Since they couldn’t compete with the ratings, they moved their broadcast start time up to 8:00 AM. For the 15 minutes overlapping with the Asadora, unless there was significant news, they would rely on filler topics.

“This was also the case for Omusubi, which had low ratings. However, I’ve never heard of a countermeasure that worked. Starting March 31, Anpan will air. Written by Miho Nakazono, with a luxurious cast including Miho Imada (28), Takumi Kitamura (27), Kazunari Ninomiya (41), Nanako Matsushima (51), and Yutaka Takenouchi (54), it’s sure to face a tough battle. In this situation, Fuji TV has taken bold ‘morning drama countermeasures’,” said a veteran wide show staff member.

Fuji TV announced a change in the broadcast time for its morning flagship program, Mezamashi TV, which features announcers Toshiharu Ito (52), Seika Inoue (29), and Ryusei Ikuta (36).

“The second part of Mezamashi TV used to air from 6:10 AM to 8:00 AM, but starting March 31, it will be extended until 8:14 AM. Mezamashi is a popular program with the highest ratings in its time slot among morning news shows. By airing it against the morning drama, they aim to compete. And the goal is to smoothly transition into the next new program, Sun! Shine, hosted by Shosuke Taniwara (52),” said a wide show staff member.

When asked about the reason for the time extension, Fuji TV’s Public Relations and Promotion Department replied, “We do not comment on the details of our programming decisions.”

NHK morning drama.

NHK’s Asaichi responds effectively

While not as blatant as Fuji TV, Hatori Shinichi Morning Show (TV Asahi) is also effectively implementing morning drama countermeasures in its 8 AM information and wide show slot, where it dominates.

“Unless there’s a major news story or breaking news, the top feature on Morning Show is usually an animal segment. It’s not just dogs and cats, but even talented budgerigars make an appearance. Veterinarians and animal trainers answer questions about the animals’ behavior. Essentially, during the airing of the morning drama, they fill the time with pet stories, and once the morning drama ends, they grab viewers with big stories. For example, the news of Ayumi Ishida’s passing was reported just after 8:14 AM,” said a TV magazine writer.

NHK, on the other hand, is taking a strategy to keep morning drama fans engaged. On the next program after the morning drama, Asaichi, the comments made by Hakata Hanamaru & Daikichi or announcer Naoko Suzuki (43) about the morning drama are popular with viewers. Recently, they have been inviting cast members from the morning drama as guests.

“On Fridays, Premium Talk features big-name guests that rival those on talk variety shows from private networks. If the guest is related to the morning drama, there’s an urban legend that they’re about to leave the show, either having died or disappeared from the story, which makes morning drama fans excited,” said a veteran staff member from a private network’s wide show.

Will the private networks’ Anpan countermeasures be successful?!