by On October 8, 2022, “Recording failure” entered the Twitter trend (a word with many posts).
This is because the broadcast time of the TV Tokyo anime “SPY x FAMILY” was changed due to the broadcast of the world table tennis, and many viewers failed to book the recording.
The timeline was filled with angry shouts and disappointments from viewers, and the trend of “recording failure” was a phenomenon due to this background.
“SPY×FAMILY” and the legend of TV Tokyo
“SPY x FAMILY” (written by Tatsuya Endo) is a famous work of the manga distribution service “Shonen Jump Plus.”
Following the anime’s first season from April to June, the second season began on October 1, and the second episode was on the 8th. It is usually broadcast from 23:00, but since the start time is uncertain, the official Twitter program announced that it would be reflected in the program schedule as needed.
After that, it started at 23:50 but finally started at 23:26. As a result of being moved forward just before, it seems that some recording devices could not track the correct start time.
The work is distributed on BS TV Tokyo and various video streaming services. Still, there have been many requests for rebroadcast on terrestrial broadcasting, and the TV Tokyo public relations office announced on the 10th that it is considering rebroadcasting. It was reported that it would be rebroadcast at 1:23 on the following day, the 11th and 15th.
Compared to other commercial TV stations, TV Tokyo tends to be loved by net users. So, why did “SPY x FAMILY” this time “burn”?
We want to consider the cause while investigating why TV Tokyo is loved.
Program organization of TV Tokyo which becomes a topic regularly
Hearing this commotion, I suddenly remembered the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
While the commercial key stations continued to broadcast special news programs, TV Tokyo quickly returned to regular programming from midnight the next day (March 12). However, critics said it was premature. Strangely enough, the first program to produce was the anime “Tegami Bachi REVERSE” on Saturdays at 23:00, just like “SPY x FAMILY.”
At a regular press conference in the same month, Satoru Tada, then head of the programming bureau, revealed that about 600 protests and about 90 support cases were received by email and phone between the 12th and 13th. President Masayuki Shimada (then) reflected on his decision to return at a press conference.
“When we returned to regular broadcasting, we received scolding from the viewers. I think there were more scoldings in terms of numbers, but some also said they were grateful. I am now feeling that this choice was made.” (From TV Tokyo’s official website)
The weakness of TV Tokyo is the lack of affiliated stations. In addition to TV Tokyo, which targets the Kanto region, there are six stations: TV Hokkaido, TV Aichi, TV Osaka, TV Setouchi (Okayama Prefecture, Kagawa Prefecture), and TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting (Fukuoka Prefecture).
However, it can turn in a small radius. In recent years, online video distribution, such as YouTube, Tver operated by commercial broadcasting stations, and Paravi, jointly used by TBS, WOWOW, etc., have become popular. We can see a strategy to expand the range on the Internet while sticking to “unwavering TV Tokyo” on terrestrial broadcasting.
TV Tokyo started real-time distribution (prime time zone) on Tver in April. On the first day, a full-page advertisement titled “Apology for acting like a national broadcast” was placed in the newspaper. Along with the SNS gift project with the hashtag “# TV Tokyo can’t be seen,” a large-scale self-torture campaign became a hot topic.
Also, at the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month, TV Tokyo’s terrestrial TV set a unique news program for only five minutes. After that, the movie “Beethoven” was broadcast as an “afternoon road show.” On the other hand, on the YouTube channel “TV Tokyo BIZ,” the state of the venue, from the arrival of the remains to the offering of flowers, was broadcast live for about 5 hours.
There was a favorable reaction on SNS to the independent organization of each station side by side. At the regular press conference on September 29, when reporters were asked about his response, President Ichiro Ishikawa’s comment had something in common with the president’s remarks immediately after the earthquake.
“I’m not doing it to receive praise or anything like that. As a result, I think I’ve fulfilled my responsibilities as a news organization by broadcasting a 5-minute special program and making it all available for viewing. On the other hand, I would be happy if the viewers praised it, and if there is any criticism, I would like to connect that criticism to the future.” (From TV Tokyo’s official website)
It is challenging to discuss large-scale disasters, state funerals, and sports broadcasts from the same perspective.
However, a sincere attitude toward viewers is typical in all cases.
It can be said that “SPY x FAMILY” is attracting the most attention among anime works broadcast this year. Perhaps the advance was a sign of hospitality: “I want to deliver as soon as possible.” This time it backfired, but it can be said that it is proof that it has such robust content.
Even in “Zetsu Meshiro,” there was an accident.
There were other accidents around the world in table tennis. The 7th episode of the drama “Zetsu Meshirod season 2” broadcast on the 8th will start at 1:42 due to the table tennis broadcast, which usually begins at 0:52. Due to the late time, it was decided to be rebroadcast on the afternoon of the 10th as an alternative measure. Still, the 7th episode of season 1 (broadcast in 2020) was accidentally played.
However, on Twitter, there are good tweets such as “I can’t hate it, I like it,” “Oh! On the contrary, I should have recorded it”, and “This is an ant w.”
Why didn’t the viewers get angry, unlike the time of “SPY x FAMILY”? The most significant difference is that the program exudes a “TV Tokyo-ness.”
“Zetsu Meshi Road” depicts how the main character, played by Takayuki Hamatsu, meets “Zetsu Meshi” (food from a restaurant that seems to be on the verge of extinction) while driving alone.
This work is in the lineage of TV Tokyo’s favorite “loose gourmet drama,” with “Lonely Gourmet” (starring Yutaka Matsushige) at the top. Wakana Sakai, who plays the main character’s wife, tweeted, “Those who like Zetsumeshi will enjoy this kind of looseness.” is.
In that respect, TV Tokyo has been broadcasting world table tennis since 2005, but it has not yet solidified its image as the “TV Tokyo of table tennis.”
On the other hand, there is many anime that immediately come to mind, such as “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (1995), “Pocket Monsters” (1997), and “Yokai Watch” (2014). If the viewer felt that “TV Tokyo was shaken by being danced by sports.”
Expectations and disappointment because of “our TV Tokyo.”
When I think about it, when I was a child in the 90s, it was not uncommon for my favorite programs to be postponed or delayed during professional baseball broadcasts. The TV broadcast ends around 21:30, but the radio shows until the end of the match. Even though he was looking forward to it, he fell asleep before he knew it, and there were many things he resented.
Times have passed, and sports broadcasts on the prime band have declined sharply. In addition, since the implementation of sub-channels (a mechanism that allows multiple programs to be organized simultaneously on two primary and sub-channels) due to the shift to terrestrial digital broadcasting, shift to that during the extension of the game so as not to affect the regular programming. There are more and more examples of doing so.
Regarding this time as well, many SNS posts raise questions about why sub-channels were not used.
Considering these considerations, the case
(1) “SPY x FAMILY” is a popular content
(2) that the start time has been changed many times;
(3) The brand image of “Table Tennis TV Tokyo” was not established
(4) Did not match the trend of sports broadcasting
Such factors are intertwined in multiple ways, which may result from judging that “it is not like our TV Tokyo.”
