Ken Watanabe’s “Black and White Anjash” at Tokyo MX Ended Affected Other Stations
Anjash’s Ken Watabe resumed his career on February 15 with “Monochrome Anjash” (Chiba TV) after an 18-month absence. Several local stations bought the program and broadcasted it, but one of them, Tokyo MX, ended it after the broadcast on the 24th.
The last broadcast was by Chiba TV on the 8th, and the guest was Asuka Kijima. In fact, Watabe returned in the following week’s episode, but Tokyo MX ended its broadcast just before that.
Some local stations broadcast the program a few days later or more than two months later, but so far Tokyo MX is the only station that has moved to “terminate” the program.
I don’t know the official reason. It may have been decided in the past, or it may be due to the results of viewer ratings. It is believed that his wife Nozomi Sasaki and his partner Kazuya Kojima pushed him to return to the show, but what could have prevented Watabe’s return more than his “relatives”? We spoke to a TV station insider.
Chiba TV has decided to let Mr. Watabe appear on the show, but other stations that air the show will be exposed to unrelated “fires. This is because local viewers tend to complain to the station that airs the program, not the station that produced it.
So even if you buy content from another station and broadcast it, you are considered “just as guilty”. Especially for a small local station, if they receive hundreds or thousands of complaints, they will be crushed. If the sponsors of the network say no, it will be difficult to broadcast the program, and I think there are many obstacles.
Tokyo MX says that the decision to terminate the program was made based on a “comprehensive judgment,” but considering that the program was terminated just before the “Watabe episode,” it could be taken as a judgment that “we can’t put Watabe on TV. But considering that the program was cancelled just before the “Watabe episode,” it is natural to assume that they decided “we can’t put Watabe on TV.
Buying and broadcasting a program is for better or for worse, but at the same time, there is naturally the option of not broadcasting it in some cases.
On the other hand, although there are numerous criticisms, some people may want to see how Watabe is behaving now that he is back on the air since it is only available on local stations. In the first episode of his return, the TV screen was captured and circulated on the Internet in an “illegal” state, but in the regular episode, there is almost no such movement.
The “Black and White” broadcast on the 22nd had “The Mummy” as a guest, but the reality is that there was hardly any talk about the content.
I think it’s best that only people who want to see the show can see it, given the nature of your talent. I think he should have started with theaters and YouTube, where you have to go out of your way to see the show.
Judging from MX’s move, the key stations will probably move more cautiously in the future. It seems that fellow comedians who know what they’re doing are itching to mess with Watabe, but I’m sure that some viewers will be uncomfortable.
Watabe has taken the first big step in his comeback, but it looks like it may be a very rough road…
PHOTO: Sota Shima