Yoshimoto and Shochiku Tokyu Participates in the new BS Station– Another Hidden Story Revealed!

In late March, Yoshimoto Kogyo, Japanext, and Shochiku Tokyu launched a BS channel.

“Although all three stations broadcast for free, their management styles differ from one another,” said an advertising agency official.

Generally, the main source of income for free channels is advertising revenue from commercials that run between programs. However, “BS Yoshimoto” does not run commercials for other companies.

 

The concept of “BS Yoshimoto” is to create local communities by fully utilizing “live-in comedians” who are active throughout Japan. In addition to selling products made by the “live-in comedians” in tie-ups with local companies in the “au Pay Market” online store, the group as a whole intends to generate profits by advertising companies and financial companies with which it has capital and business alliances in the program.

The strength of the program is that it can reduce production costs by using sets from Yoshimoto’s headquarters and theaters, and by using its own comedians at a discount.

The director of a production company believes that Yoshimoto’s presence outside of the entertainment industry is likely to increase with the entry of BS.

Yoshimoto has been deepening its relationship with the government in recent years by teaming up with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and we can sense that the company hopes to solidify its relationship with the government by airing a joint project on BS.

The main source of revenue for BS Japanext, which is operated by Japanext, comes from TV shopping sales.

The transfer of “Panel Quiz Attack 25,” which had been aired on the TV Asahi network, has also made headlines, and Japanext has developed an application that links the program with online shopping. The app allows users to purchase products introduced in the program and participate in “Attack 25” through the app.

The opening of Japanext has raised concerns among key stations and leading BS stations.

 

They fear that if the BS business takes off, Japanext Takata will withdraw from terrestrial and BS TV shopping. With the Internet taking away advertising revenue, it would be painful if they lost their big customers.

Shochiku-Tokyu is a joint venture of two companies, Shochiku for Kabuki and Tokyu for the stage business, and the content business is the mainstay of its earnings. The company also makes good use of the expertise of film companies by providing original dramas to the video distribution services “Hikari TV” and “GYAO! (a person related to a movie company).

However, some are concerned about the station’s future prospects as soon as it opens.

The opening drama “Home Appliance Samurai” starring Kenichi Takito (45) and the special drama starring Mao Inoue (35) have not attracted much attention. The executives’ disappointment is especially great because “Home Appliance Samurai” was a spirited drama that was cranked up on an aggressive schedule, with all 13 episodes shot in only 21 days. Now that we know that the film has no budget and will not attract attention, we may have a hard time casting it in the future.

Which station will be the winner?

From the April 29, 2022 issue of FRIDAY