"Here, curry chicken cutlet rice. I didn't have time to buy ingredients today, so just make do with this for now," Tsuda Nao said, placing a plate of curry rice in front of Aoki Haruhi.
"Mmm, smells good." Aoki Haruhi let out an exclamation.
It was already impressive enough to be able to eat curry rice.
She untied her apron and sat down across from Aoki Haruhi.
The two of them began discussing their future plans while eating in Tsuda Nao's apartment.
"Let's set aside the animation production company for a moment and start with the TV stations that will broadcast it," Tsuda Nao said.
"Hmm, that's what I was thinking, too," Aoki Haruhi agreed.
The TV station for the broadcast was actually quite critical. Furthermore, they had to nail down the time slot; if it got placed in some garbage time slot, that would be terrible.
"TV stations have their own animation production departments. If we hand the production over to them, the costs will be cheaper, and after passing their internal review, there will be advantages when it comes to scheduling their own animation," Tsuda Nao said.
"So, which TV station would be better to choose for the premiere?"
TV stations in Japan are a bit different from those in China.
There are six major TV stations in Japan:
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), NTV (Nippon Television Network Corporation, referred to as Nippon TV), Fuji TV, TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System), TV Asahi, and TV Tokyo.
Except for NHK, which is a public institution, the other TV stations are privately operated.
TV stations must be self-sustaining, operating essentially as businesses.
Collaborating with a TV station depends on the specific situation. If your anime is excellent enough and has a broad audience, the TV station will pay the animation company to purchase the rights to broadcast it.
However, there is also the opposite scenario: if you want to broadcast your own anime on a TV station, you need to pay a certain fee.
Exclusivity, premiere slots, time slots... prices vary depending on these factors.
In short, the specific situation depends on negotiating with the TV station yourself.
"Let's not consider NHK for now," Tsuda Nao frowned and said.
NHK is known as the premier TV station in Japan because it broadcasts to audiences nationwide and in a simultaneous live format, whereas other TV stations can only achieve nationwide coverage by establishing partnerships with local stations.
But NHK isn't particularly focused on anime; the proportion of its programming dedicated to anime is relatively small compared to other stations, and its vetting process is very strict and relatively conservative.
Aoki Haruhi could understand this point very well.
NHK is equivalent to China's CCTV. If their review process wasn't strict and conservative enough, it would easily trigger controversy and cause significant damage to their image.
After all, as a public broadcaster, they need to be responsible to the entire nation.
If you list them out, you'll actually find that the anime aired on NHK—"Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water," "Nintama Rantaro," "Cardcaptor Sakura"—are all very much all-ages and filled with positive energy.
"There's no need to consider TV Asahi either."
TV Asahi is known as "The Seniors' Station," and you can tell from that, their target audience is generally older, so they primarily focus on serious dramas.
Workplace dramas are TV Asahi's trump card.
NTV has good variety shows, but might be a bit lacking when it comes to anime.
That leaves only Fuji TV, TBS, and TV Tokyo.
"The first choice, of course, is Fuji TV." Tsuda Nao tapped on the word [Fuji] written in her notebook.
Fuji TV has always been considered the king of anime broadcasting.
"Dragon Ball," "Astro Boy," "Touch"...
Especially the "Chibi Maruko-chan" that aired last year, which actually reached a 39.9% viewership rating, becoming the highest-rated anime in Japanese history on record.
"But the problem is also obvious," Tsuda Nao said, her eyes cast downward as she scooped a spoonful of curry rice into her mouth.
After chewing slowly for a moment, she said slowly, "There are so many anime waiting in line. Even if we squeeze in now, there's no telling when it will air; it's very likely it won't even be broadcast by this time next year."
"For an unknown studio like us, we might be able to get a better slot by going through Toei, but the corresponding costs would inevitably be much higher."
"We'll have to ask to know for sure."
"Hmm." Aoki Haruhi nodded.
"We could also ask TBS."
Tsuda Nao shifted her gaze to the last one, TV Tokyo, her eyes showing a hint of disdain.
Among Japan's six major television stations, TV Tokyo has an all-day viewership rating of about 2.7%, making it the smallest (and poorest) one.
This station is simply a heartless anime-broadcasting machine.
They have so many anime. Five hours a day are dedicated to broadcasting anime, and they even air them late at night.
This TV station is simply a heartless animation-broadcasting machine.
It has a huge amount of anime.
It broadcasts anime for five hours a day, and even airs it late into the night.
The reason for this can be summed up in one word—
Poverty.
Moreover, this TV station is famous for always doing things its own way.
While other TV stations scramble to follow mainstream trends and broadcast major news, TV Tokyo always maintains an indifferent attitude, sticking to its scheduled programming. This has earned it the nickname "The Legend of TV Tokyo" in the Japanese television industry.
When a major news event occurs, if you turn on all six TV stations at the same time, you can witness the following spectacular scene:
The Prime Minister makes a resignation statement; while other stations are all closely following the current events, TV Tokyo is the only one broadcasting a commercial for baldness treatment.
When a major earthquake strikes, other TV stations are urgently broadcasting emergency reports, but what about TV Tokyo? It's showing an animated cartoon.
Even when world-class events like a nuclear power plant explosion occurred in a past life, TV Tokyo remained unhurried, continuing to broadcast a nature documentary.
Even when the Emperor was changing the era name—an event the whole of Japan was focused on—TV Tokyo was still doing its own thing, teaching people how to make fish soup more delicious.
Thus, because of its indifferent, occasionally profound, and unwaveringly steadfast broadcasting habits, the legend of TV Tokyo was born.
Even when the Emperor was about to change the era name—an event the whole of Japan was focused on—TV Tokyo was still going its own way, teaching everyone how to make fish soup more delicious.
Just like that, thanks to its habit of being indifferent to the world, occasionally profound, and unwaveringly pragmatic in its broadcasting, the legend of TV Tokyo was born.
People developed a habit of making sure to watch TV Tokyo during holidays, and a saying even appeared in Japanese movies:
[It's okay. As long as TV Tokyo is still broadcasting anime, everything is fine.]
On Japan's 2CH, a disaster scale even began to circulate:
Level 1: NHK airs a special program → Time to pay attention. Level 2: NTV, TBS, Fuji, and Asahi air special programs → Time to be on alert. Level 3: TV Tokyo inserts a news ticker → Maybe it's time to evacuate. Level 4: TV Tokyo changes its regular programming schedule → It's time to evacuate for real. Level 5: The Prime Minister makes a public announcement to the nation → State of emergency. Level 6: TV Tokyo stops broadcasting anime and switches directly to an emergency program → The world is ending.
Walk your own path and let others talk.
TV Tokyo perfectly exemplifies this saying.
But why is TV Tokyo so willful?
"Walk your own path, let others talk."
TV Tokyo explains this saying perfectly.
But why is TV Tokyo so willful?
The reason is none other than a lack of money!
People usually say "having money makes you willful," but for TV Tokyo, not having money makes it willful.
Besides having no money, there are many other reasons.
For example, a lack of manpower.
Fuji TV currently has about 930 employees, while TV Tokyo has only half that—420 employees.
When TV Tokyo was first established, its staff was pitifully small. With so few people on duty on weekends, how could it possibly handle major breaking news?
Another reason is that TV Tokyo's live broadcasting equipment isn't advanced; it can't compare to other stations.
Because of the low investment and few employees, when major news occurs, other stations often temporarily change their schedules to produce special emergency programs, while TV Tokyo mostly continues to quietly air its scheduled programming.
Nothing else, just poverty.
Level 5: The Prime Minister makes a public announcement to the nation → State of emergency.
Level 6: TV Tokyo stops airing anime and immediately starts broadcasting an emergency program → The world is ending.
In short, a TV Tokyo without Pokémon, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Gintama, or "Pain" (Naruto) in 1991 was a TV station that even Nao Tsuda would have turned up her nose at.
In short, the TV Tokyo of 1991, devoid of Pokémon, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Gintama, or "Pain," was a station that even Tsuda Nao looked down upon.
"Still, they broadcast anime quite diligently, which you could call a merit of TV Tokyo.
Their broadcast fees are far lower than other stations, which is also a plus."
Tsuda Nao smiled. "Let's consider it as a last resort."
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