On February 21, TV Asahi announced that they will be broadcasting a new live program, "Wide! Scramble Saturday," on Saturday afternoons from April (11:30am to 1:30am except in some areas, with ANN news from 11:45am to noon). Until last December, "Nakai Masahiro's Saturday Meeting" was broadcast in the same time slot, but after that program ended, they started broadcasting selections of variety shows. This will be the "Saturday version" of the information/variety show "Wide! Scramble" (Monday to Friday, 10:25am), which began on April 1, 1996 and is currently hosted by announcer Oshita Yoko.
The hosts for "Wide! Scramble Saturday" are announcer Yumiko Matsuo, who has been with the company for 24 years, and announcer Tomohiro Sugawara, who has been with the company for 16 years. As they continue the 30-year history of "Wide! Scramble," they will be "widely" reporting on the latest news and various events happening in the world.
Matsuo commented, "'Today's Blue Sky' (a corner of Wide! Scramble) made me feel refreshed, and I even felt respect for the program's approach of digging deep into various issues. I never thought I would be in charge of it..." He continued, "I'm prepared for the big difference between watching and doing, and I'm studying hard to get as close as possible to Oshita-san, while also working hard to move forward together with Sugawara-san, being true to myself and not overreaching myself. I hope to be able to continue the softness and bright flow of the weekdays. I would appreciate your support if you would like."
Sugawara, who has been in charge of "Wide! Scramble" intermittently since her third year at the company, said, "I will be joining 'Team Oshita' on Saturdays. 'Wide! Scramble' is a warm, home-like place where Oshita and the staff said 'Welcome back!' when I returned from a year of maternity leave." She added enthusiastically, "Together with my senior Matsuo, I will deliver the news honestly, carefully and positively."
TV Asahi Chief Producer Iijima Hirosuke commented, "We have a world at the mercy of President Trump, ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine, the struggle for hegemony between the US and China, the House of Councillors elections and the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections coming up in Japan, and this summer we will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. At 'Oshita Yoko Wide! Scramble', the cast and staff all rack their brains as they face the news sincerely every day. Now, with so much news to report, we will be delivering 'the latest news in a warm, sharp and easy-to-understand way' in a two-hour live broadcast on Saturday afternoon on 'Wide! Scramble.''
