Tomikawa → Toyota, Masu → University: The Ibaraki road of male announcers, even popular ones

Yuta Tomikawa, the “face” of TV Asahi who has worked on “News Station” and other programs, has announced his departure from the company at the end of March this year. Some media reported that he may join “Toyo Times,” which was established by Toyota Motor Corporation to disseminate information, since his father was an executive at the company.

Also announced that Taichi Masu, the “face” of NTV, will also be leaving at the end of March, and will become an assistant professor at Doshisha University’s Harris Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in April.

Tomikawa has lost his position as the main MC of “Ho-Ste” to former NHK anchor Kensuke Ogoshi since October 2009. This cold treatment is said to have been one of the reasons for his departure, although his own coronary infection was also a factor.

Masu, on the other hand, is still the host of “Truth Report Bankisha! It has been announced that he will continue to serve in this capacity even after his departure from the company. It is really surprising that two people who have supported both stations are leaving at the same time,” said a reporter from a sports newspaper.

The departure of the station’s leading announcers. They will be working as “freelancers,” but it is noteworthy that they are affiliated with companies and universities despite their outstanding name recognition.

In fact, it is said that freelance male announcers are in a “winter period. In the days when Kazuo Tokumitsu, Ichiro Furudate, Hiroshi Kume, and others went freelance, it was possible for those with the same level of name recognition to get a show at another station right away.

However, nowadays, female announcers, comedians, and Japanese celebrities are often chosen as hosts of information and sports programs, which were often hosted by male announcers.

Furthermore, the number of live TV broadcasts of baseball, soccer, and other sports, which used to be the flower of male announcers, has drastically decreased. The number of live broadcasts of baseball and soccer games has been shifting to online programs, but the fees are said to be lower than the unit cost of TV broadcasts.

In other words, the number of opportunities for male TV announcers is drastically decreasing.

Another profitable job for freelance announcers is hosting events. In the case of singers and comedians, this is equivalent to “sales.

If you are an announcer at a key station, you can earn at least 300,000 yen per event. If you are a top-class name, you can earn more than 1,000,000 yen. However, for corporate presentations, female announcers are often appointed for the most part, perhaps out of an awareness of the glamour involved. In other words, male announcers are at a disadvantage here as well.

It has become difficult for male announcers to survive as freelancers based on name recognition alone. However, this does not mean that there are no ways to survive.

Kosuke Hiraiwa, a former Asahi Broadcasting Corporation announcer who quit his job as a station announcer to become a play-by-play announcer for “e-sports” games, said on a TV program that his income increased tenfold after going freelance. He became independent because of his love of games, and his expertise is really strong.

If Anna Tomikawa joins “Toyotimes,” he could become a specialist in the economics section. Masu may be trying to win out in the “rough road” of male freelance announcers by mastering the art of being a “science-oriented” announcer.

We can’t wait to see what they will do now that they have left their positions as station announcers, which are said to bring in annual incomes of 20 or 30 million yen.