Generational Shift in Television: “Veterans Retiring” and “Youngsters Rising” in Terrestrial Television

More and more TV people are going freelance.

Yuki Hioki, 45, a director known for “Sake no Tsumami ni Naru Hanashi” and “Calling Teacher Tanaka,” will leave Fuji Television at the end of January.

He stated the reason for his departure on his SNS, saying, “I want to challenge ‘interesting things’ in a broader area, such as various TV stations, distribution, and events. In his case, the series of Fuji TV problems and the trouble that “Sake no Tsumami” was unreasonably put on hold may have something to do with it, but age is also a factor. 45 years old, it is time to transition to a managerial position. For TV people who want to stick to the “field,” the establishment of a receiving distribution media and the high pay will be attractive. In fact, more and more people are going freelance or changing jobs,” said a producer at a key station.

Nobuyuki Sakuma, 50, who is in charge of “Godtan” and other popular programs at TV TOKYO, has continued to work as a freelance producer of variety shows after leaving TV TOKYO, and has also ventured into YouTube. He has also become a sought-after “performer” in the media.

Video distribution services are starting to focus on variety shows, so if you are a TV person with a proven track record, you can now make more money than when you were at the station,” said a director at a production company.

The number of variety subscriber services is also increasing, as seen in the success of “Downtown Plus,” which started last fall. However, content that will become a social phenomenon like dramas has yet to appear.

Unlike terrestrial broadcasting, which is subject to strict compliance requirements, the strength of non-sponsored subscriber programs is that they can do whatever they want, but in the case of variety shows, this strength has raised the bar. However, in the case of variety shows, this strength has become a hurdle. Even if monetization is possible, “Downtown Plus” is said by some to be “the same in content as terrestrial broadcasting even though it is distributed. If things continue as they are, the number of subscribers may stagnate.

Some TV people are beginning to stick to terrestrial broadcasting.

Kentaro Fujii, 45, a shrewd producer at TBS who works on “Wednesday’s Downtown,” is working on a number of aggressive content for DMM TV and other distribution programs, but they have not attracted that much attention. Downtown Plus” also has more than 500,000 members, but in terms of viewer ratings, it has less than 1%. Terrestrial and YouTube programs have more influence on the public. ″How aggressive can we make programs within the framework of strict compliant restrictions? is becoming the theme.

It seems that young people will have more chances to have their own programs.

With the trend of successful TV people leaving one after another, stations are focusing on nurturing young talent. With the establishment of missed programs, it has become easier to make not only the “greatest common denominator” type of programs, but also projects that target a maniacal viewer. In some cases, budgets are being spared for projects that receive a large number of views, such as “Detective Tsuda” from “Wednesday’s Downtown. Opportunities for young TV people have increased dramatically,” said a broadcaster.

We look forward to the birth of a high-level variety show that overcomes the “barrier of compliance.

From the February 13, 2026 issue