On March 6th, TV Asahi held a briefing on their April programming changes at their headquarters (Minato-ku, Tokyo). Last year, the station achieved a triple crown in the average annual viewer ratings (households) for the second consecutive year in all time slots: all day (6AM-midnight), golden time (7PM-10PM), and prime time (7PM-11PM), and also achieved a triple crown in individual overall viewer ratings for the first time since the station's launch. Okugawa Akihiro, Director of Content Programming, explained the programming policy, saying, "This April period will also be an all-target strategy, and we will pursue a timetable that meets the needs of all generations, in addition to families. This time, we aim to strengthen the entire timetable, and would like to introduce new projects and renew the program content."
The highlight will be the broadcast of the Saturday edition of the information/variety show "Wide! Scramble" (Monday to Friday, 10:25am), hosted by announcer Oshita Yoko. Titled "Wide! Scramble Saturday" (11:30am to 1:30pm, excluding some regions), the MCs will be Matsuo Yumiko, who has been with the company for 24 years, and Sugawara Tomohiro, who has been with the company for 16 years. Programming Director Okugawa introduced the show by saying, "Just like on weekdays, we will dig deep into the news from our own unique perspective and deliver the information that our viewers want to know right now."
In variety, "Platinum Family" has become a regular program after three special episodes, and is broadcast on Tuesdays at 7pm. MCs Kotaro Koizumi and Chisako Takashima, with Tetsuko Kuroyanagi as special advisor, introduce the lifestyle of the glamorous "Platinum Family."
"Izuru Degawa's Horan☆Fushigi no Kai," which was previously broadcast in the same time slot, will be moved to Saturday 10:30pm to 10:54pm starting this spring. "THE Generation Feeling," which was broadcast on Saturdays from 10pm to 11pm, will be a 30-minute program and will be broadcast on Saturdays from 10pm to 10:30pm.
A new anime slot, "IMAnimation W" (Wednesdays 11:45 pm) will be created on Wednesday nights, and "Your Forma," based on a popular light novel, will be broadcast from April 2nd. Additionally, the short anime "Koupen-chan" (8:28 am to 8:30 am, Kanto local) will be broadcast on Sunday mornings from April 6th. This will be two more anime slots on the station, following "IMAnimation" (Saturdays 11:30 pm) and "NUMAnimation" (Saturdays 1:30 am).
Regarding the return of KAT-TUN's Nakamaru Yuichi, who was a regular on the educational variety show "Kaji Yarou!!!" (Tuesdays at 8 p.m.), Director of Programming Okugawa explained, "Nothing has been decided at this point. We will make a decision in consultation with his agency."
The restructuring rate was 8.5% for all day, 17.6% for golden time, and 17.3% for prime time.
