<figure id="attachment_227525" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 659px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227525"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="787a66d6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/4be5f5983926e256fccb21ccfa5c857c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227525" class="wp-caption-text">Figure 1: &#8220;Kamukamu&#8221; broadcast on January 17. It shows that viewer interest is gradually increasing.</figcaption></figure>
Two major NHK drama series are doing well. The serial TV novel &#8220;Kamukamu evuribadi&#8221; (hereinafter referred to as &#8220;Kamukamu&#8221;) recorded the highest weekly average viewer rating of 18.0% (according to Video Research) in its 13th week (January 24-28). The fourth episode (January 30) of the historical drama &#8220;Kamakura-dono no 13&#8221; (hereinafter referred to as &#8220;Kamakura-dono&#8221;) topped the same time slot (Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m.) for the fourth consecutive week with 15.4%.
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But even if you don&#8217;t watch it, if you turn on the TV, the ratings will go up. It is impossible to know which scenes the viewers were interested in and which scenes they were not. TVISION INSIGHTS is a venture company that independently analyzes the attention span of viewers. The company&#8217;s marketing and PR manager, Tomoko Sano, explains.
 In the Kanto region, we have about 2,000 households that cooperate with us in our surveys. We use our own sensors to detect the direction of the viewer&#8217;s face and other factors to find out what percentage of the people in front of the TV are paying attention, second by second.
 If their faces are facing the direction of the TV, it is determined that the scene is &#8216;of interest&#8217;. Last year, the average attention rate for weekday mornings (6:00 to 9:00 a.m.) drama series was 63%. Looking at the results of the two NHK dramas currently airing, we found an interesting trend&#8221; (remarks below by Mr. Sano).
<h2>Reasons for the low level of attention to the opening</h2>
First, let&#8217;s take a look at &#8220;Kamukamu&#8221; for the January 17 broadcast (Fig. 1, all images provided by TVISION INSIGHTS). While the viewership ratings (blue line) remained almost constant, the level of attention (green line) varied greatly depending on the time of day. The most attention was paid at 8:13, just before the end of the program, when the attention level was 70%.
 The scene where Joichiro (played by Joe Odagiri) visits Rui (played by Eri Fukatsu). This is the scene where the story gets exciting, just before the contest to determine the best trumpeter in Kansai. Mr. Fukatsu is about to close his dry cleaning store to watch the contest, when Mr. Odagiri appears.
 His hairstyle and clothes are neat and clean, but he has a ketchup stain on his chest &#8230;&#8230;. The story goes that he ate a hotdog in his stage costume and spilled ketchup on it. His comical performance in a tense situation probably added to the story and attracted viewers.
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On the other hand, the lowest attention rate was 48% at 8:02 a.m. right after the start of the broadcast.
 The opening is the same every time, and viewers are used to hearing the theme song. This naturally lowers the level of attention.
<figure id="attachment_227630" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 661px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227630"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="84763117"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/a958782d10d23f462a1eac48442b8c95.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227630" class="wp-caption-text"> Figure 2: &#8220;Kamukamu&#8221; broadcast on January 21. Fig. 2] &#8220;Kamukamu&#8221; broadcast on January 21. The opening tends to be familiar and attract less attention.</figcaption></figure>
The same can be said for the episode broadcast on January 21 (Figure 2). Viewers&#8217; interest was highest at 8:12, just before the end of the program. Odagiri&#8217;s sudden return from Osaka to meet Fukatsu was an exciting scene that drew 67% of attention. On the other hand, the opening 8:02 of the program received 53% of the attention.
<figure id="attachment_227529" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1029px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227529"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9042b2ec"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/c1ceb495873fa8f3e64630fc5efe05a2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227529" class="wp-caption-text"> Figure 3: &#8220;Morning and Afternoon Attention Ratios&#8221; for the first episode of &#8220;Kamukamu&#8221; broadcast on November 1 last year.</figcaption></figure>
 The morning drama is also rebroadcast at noon. When we compared the level of attention between morning and afternoon, we found that it was about 5% higher in the afternoon (Figure 3). In the morning, many people turn on the TV while getting ready to go out, making it difficult to look at the screen. In the daytime, people are likely to be relatively calm and enjoy the drama.
<h2>Background of the Two Mountains in the First Episode of &#8220;Kamakura-dono</h2>
<figure id="attachment_227530" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 843px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227530"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3a0b0150"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/adb1e358234510bf5caea4a8429a0a0c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227530" class="wp-caption-text"> Figure 4: The first episode of &#8220;Kamakura-dono. Since it was the first time, the opening drew attention.</figcaption></figure>
Next, let&#8217;s take a look at the trends in &#8220;Kamakura-dono. Figure 4 is a graph of the first episode broadcast on January 9.
 There are two vertices: the first is at 8:04 (74%), right after the program starts. The first is at 8:04 a.m. (74%), just after the start of the program. This is the opposite phenomenon of morning dramas, where the opening attracts less attention. The reason is that it is the first episode. We can imagine that viewers were excited to see what kind of opening it would be and what kind of music would be played.
 The second is 8:57 (75%). Normally, the preview for the next week is over and the program comes to an end. However, on that day, the drama started again with the first extended edition. I think the viewers were curious, wondering what was going on.
Interest was low at 8:14 a.m. (62%), about 15 minutes after the start.
 This is the scene where the main character, Yoshitoki Hojo (Shun Oguri), goes to see Yoritomo Minamoto (Yo Oizumi), who is hiding him. It is an important scene, but it is generally dark. The whispered conversations between Yoshitoki and others may have been difficult for older viewers to hear.
<figure id="attachment_227531" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 848px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-227531"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="75f951b7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/59d16e430dee7994b7f52f433d8ad886.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-227531" class="wp-caption-text"> Figure 5: The second episode of &#8220;Kamakura-dono. The familiar opening was of little interest.</figcaption></figure>
The second episode of &#8220;Kamakura-dono&#8221; broadcast on January 16 was a complete change from the first episode (Fig. 5). In the second episode, which aired on January 16, there was a complete change from the first episode (Figure 5): viewers&#8217; attention span was lower at 8:01 a.m. (66%) because they were used to seeing the opening.
 The interest level drops at 8:12, the same time as the first episode (66%). It may be that the story is progressing and viewers are less focused.
 The time with the highest interest is 8:19 (76%). Yoshitoki convinces his sister Masako (Eiko Koike) to &#8216;stay away from Yoritomo. The topic of conversation also leaps to Yae (Aragaki Yui), who gave birth to Yoritomo&#8217;s child. Yoritomo&#8217;s nanny, Hiki-ni (Kusabue Mitsuko), and other gorgeous actors appear one after another, and romantic elements are scattered throughout the story. This is a scene that will keep viewers coming back for more, as only Koki Mitani, who wrote the script, can do.
The level of attention shows the interest and interest of the viewers. At the same time, it is easy to see what is special about the drama and what is worth seeing. Judging the superiority or inferiority of a program by its viewer ratings may be outdated.

 Courtesy of TVISION INSIGHTS.

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