The End of an Era? Production Budget Cuts Are Hitting Japanese Variety Shows Hard

Energy-saving measures are transforming terrestrial television variety shows

It has been reported that the popular Nippon TV variety program “Ariyoshi no Kabe (Ariyoshi’s Wall)” will end its regular broadcasts this autumn.

“The program first aired as a special in 2015 before becoming a regular series in 2020. As its premise suggests, young comedians challenge the walls of comedy prepared by Hiroiki Ariyoshi (52) and develop as entertainers by overcoming them. Through the show, groups such as Chocolate Planet and Sissonne achieved mainstream success. Its large-scale location shoots were also well received because collaborating municipalities and businesses viewed them as excellent publicity opportunities,” a production company director explained.

Nippon TV has also announced the end of “The W,” a competition to determine Japan’s top female comedian. Comedian Soshina (33), who served as a judge on the program, admitted that he had been unable to save it.

“Compared with mixed-gender competitions, the overall level of the competition wasn’t considered especially high. Now that gender-neutral attitudes have become more widespread, some people have even questioned whether a women-only competition is out of step with the times. With so many comedy contests being held, everything other than the ‘M-1 Grand Prix’ has steadily lost prestige. It wouldn’t be surprising if other competitions were also discontinued,” said a producer at one of Japan’s major television networks.

Comedy sketch programs and concept-driven variety shows such as “Ariyoshi no Kabe,” which once flourished on television, have gradually been disappearing.

“Because of budget cuts, it has become increasingly difficult to get approval for elaborate projects that require large amounts of money and time. Even when networks spend heavily, television ratings and streaming figures don’t improve very much. A good example is ‘Johnson’ (TBS), a large-scale variety show that brought together popular comedians such as Kamaitachi, Mitorizu, and New York but was cancelled almost immediately.

Instead, it’s more cost-effective to produce quiz shows and programs in which celebrities stroll around town, which tend to appeal to older viewers, as well as confession-style talk shows that are easily turned into short clips and spread through online news sites.”

As a result, viewers who enjoy variety programming have increasingly migrated to comedians’ YouTube channels and streaming services.

“Terrestrial television simply can’t keep up with comedian-run YouTube channels such as Saraba Seishun no Hikari when it comes to responding quickly to current events. And it’s difficult for traditional television networks to produce ambitious, lavishly cast programs like ‘The Great Escape’ on DMM TV or ‘Can You Invite 100 Friends?’ on Amazon Prime Video,” the production company director added.

The two areas in which terrestrial variety television has discovered new opportunities amid this drive for efficiency are driving and cooking.

“The appeal of driving programs is that it’s easy to bring out celebrities’ natural personalities and candid conversations while they’re in the car. Since the programs often stop at popular restaurants and tourist attractions, they can also incorporate elements of travel and exploration shows. Cooking programs, meanwhile, are popular with homemakers, and because everything can be filmed in a kitchen studio, production costs are lower. There’s also the added bonus that people sometimes reveal their true feelings while they’re cooking,” the writer explained.

According to the same writer, the decline of concept-based variety programs will create a much harsher environment for younger comedians.

“Unless someone is an experienced performer with compelling stories to tell and the ability to deliver biting remarks—like Hiroyuki Iguchi (43) of Westland, for example—they’re unlikely to be cast. We’ll probably see more and more programs featuring the same familiar faces.”

The era when television was expected above all else to be entertaining now seems very far away.

From the combined July 17–24, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY” magazine.