Fuji’s flagship program… “Surprising Behind-the-Scenes” of a string of long-running programs being terminated

The regular broadcast of Fuji Television’s travel variety show “Moshi Moshi Tours” will end its 20-year history in September.


Haruka Fukuhara (23), who is set to be the heroine of the morning drama “Asadora” and played the role of the third guide, was one of Fuji’s representative location programs, but the decision was made because location shooting became more difficult due to the spread of the new corona infection” (director of a production company).

NHK’s lifestyle information program “Gatten! NHK’s lifestyle information program “Gatten!

The main reason for this is that viewers’ opinions can now be heard directly through social networking services. Until the Heisei era, it was considered aesthetics to keep a program running for a long time, and negative opinions from viewers were suppressed within the station. However, with the development of social networking, it is no longer possible to deceive the eyes of sponsors and advertising agencies. If the situation did not improve, we had no choice but to end the program.

The decline in advertising revenues has also forced the station to cut back on program production costs.

“Programs featuring major celebrities who had contributed to the station over a long period of time could not be terminated unless the numbers were very bad, but in recent years, the hit index has become younger and younger. In recent years, however, the benchmark for hits has shifted to core viewership ratings targeting the younger generation and online distribution. The dismal performance of the big-name talent has become so pronounced that the only way out is to have the talent that is too cost-effective graduate, whether they are big names or not. That is how much the stations can’t afford to lose.

A producer at a key station pointed out the Achilles’ heel of long-running programs.

There are an increasing number of programs that make their production costs by inserting infomercials (advertising programs such as TV shopping) in between programs, but in many cases it is difficult to insert infomercials in long-running programs because the format of the program is so fixed.

The recent personnel changes at TV stations, such as the one-year change of presidents at NTV and Fuji Television, have also had an impact.

Like a baseball manager, the new top management is eager to change the policies of the predecessor and make bold changes. In addition, the station’s relationship with the big-name talent that has supported its long-running programs is thin, making it easier to restructure the station. Long-lived programs have fixed fans, but there is little room for improvement,” said a director of a production company.

A mid-level broadcaster predicts that “long-lived programs will continue to be terminated.

TV stations are concerned about what other stations are doing. TV stations tend to terminate programs in a chain reaction. Fuji’s “Mecha x 2 Iketeru! and “Tunnels no minasan no okagedeshita” in rapid succession, people involved in long-running variety shows on other stations were on edge. Now, the TV industry is watching with bated breath the fate of “Laughing Point” (NTV). The program has been rejuvenated with the addition of Miyaji Katsura (45), but the cast is now all in their 70s or older. The number of members falling ill has been increasing, and there are rumors that the program may be terminated. If the highly rated “Laugh Point” graduates, an avalanche of long-running programs with poor ratings may come to an end.

Even middle-aged and older viewers are likely to leave terrestrial TV. ……

From the September 2, 2022 issue of FRIDAY