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Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?
Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?
1up.com - July 12, 2007
Submitted by Making_Waves (706) at 2:10PM PST on July 12, 2007
Hardcore gamers may feel underwhelmed at the announcement of games like Wii Fit... but the mainstream public (at least in Japan) is eating up everything Nintendo's serving.
Interestingly, the phenomenon of Wii love is already starting to have some unusual economic side effects -- the most recent being a precipitous drop in the overall ratings (and revenue) enjoyed by Japanese television stations.
According to a recent article over at the Times, enthusiasm for the Wii is starting to seriously adversely affect the bottom line of Japan's mainstream broadcast networks, especially in the economically-critical prime-time "golden hour".
The article cites a senior executive at Fuji TV (Japan's largest commercial television channel), who accuses the Wii of 'stealing' families away from the normal network fare of Samurai dramas, wacky game shows, variety shows, etc. customarily broadcast during the summer months. As evidence, he points to the fact that last week was the first in nearly two decades where no single show on any commercial station attracted more than a 9 per cent audience share.
"The quality of programming has always been a little cyclical in Japan", comments an executive at rival TV station TBS "but there has never been a period of decline like the one we are seeing now. There are outside factors at work. One is people watching TV on their cell phones where we can't track them, but the really big factor is the time people are spending on the Wii."
Of course this begs the obvious question... what the heck are they playing for hours on end? Everybody votes? The Internet?
Discussion - Submit a comment
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2kspraydad posted on Wii (Wii) at 3:00PM PST on July 12, 2007. RE: Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?@pilias_simber,
I wasn't commenting on 1up (at least I wasn't meaning to)
I was commenting that this is just very anecdotal and without some actual rigorous measurement is just more 'hand wringing' from established media looking to blame something for their continued viewer ship loss.
Throwing the Wii into the mix is just 'sexy'...5 years from now when it is still happening there will be something else to blame.
Old media doesn't 'get' it.[ Oracle ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 475 ]bids
2trihunter posted on Wii (Wii) at 2:49PM PST on July 12, 2007. RE: Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?@pilias_simber,
Seems vague. But I think that kspraydad was referring to the fact that they think it is the Wii. It could be something completely unrelated to that idea. Do Media Insiders know for a fact it is the Wii? Do they have statistics that show that people are playing during primetime hours? They could throw a census, but they don't have anything to prove it.
I still stand by my predictions about the stock, but kspraydad has a point.
[ Elite ] [ Level 20 ] [ Rank: 286 ]bids
1pilias_simber posted on Wii (Wii) at 2:38PM PST on July 12, 2007. RE: Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?@kspraydad,
Taking a look at the original NY Times article:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2056279.ece
Their stated source for the cause is as such:
Media Insiders.
Does this mean they are right?
Not necessarily, but it's more than just 1up tring to make a case for the Wii, this is coming from a fairly legit source, the NYTimes.[ Oracle ] [ Level 22 ] [ Rank: 122 ]bids
1trihunter posted on Wii (Wii) at 2:21PM PST on July 12, 2007. RE: Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?@kspraydad,
It is most likely fluff, but it still shows that Wii is still following in Japan for editors to think that an easy headline would involve a Nintendo console.[ Elite ] [ Level 20 ] [ Rank: 286 ]bids
1kspraydad posted on Wii (Wii) at 2:18PM PST on July 12, 2007. RE: Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?@trihunter,
Show me some scientific correlation or its just a fluff news piece.
Maybe it is the DS and not the Wii?
What happened when they sold X million PS2?
TV viewing is declining all over the world...its called 'the internet'
etc etc...
[ Oracle ] [ Level 21 ] [ Rank: 475 ]bids
2trihunter posted on Wii (Wii) at 2:16PM PST on July 12, 2007. RE: Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?They must be busy playing Wii Play...
I think this shows the Wii slowly following the DS pattern. As developers spend more time with the console, more third-party games will be released with on the Wii platform, causing more 'hardcore' gamers to buy the system.
Meanwhile, 'casual' gamers will be attracted to things such as the new peripherals and gimmicks such as WiiFit. They will be brought in, and Nintendo is now targeting that market which Microsoft and Sony seem to care less about. If it catches, the Wii may sell as well as predicted.[ Elite ] [ Level 20 ] [ Rank: 286 ]bids
2Making_Waves posted on Wii (Wii) at 2:10PM PST on July 12, 2007. RE: Wii "Stealing" TV Viewership In Japan?Hardcore gamers may feel underwhelmed at the announcement of games like Wii Fit... but the mainstream public (at least in Japan) is eating up everything Nintendo's serving. Interestingly, the phenomenon of Wii love is already starting to have some unusual economic side effects -- the most recent being a precipitous drop in the overall ratings (and revenue) enjoyed by Japanese television stations. According to a recent article over at the Times, enthusiasm for the Wii is starting to seriously adversely affect the bottom line of Japan's mainstream broadcast networks, especially in the economically-critical prime-time "golden hour". The article cites a senior executive at Fuji TV (Japan's largest commercial television channel), who accuses the Wii of 'stealing' families away from the normal network fare of Samurai dramas, wacky game shows, variety shows, etc. customarily broadcast during the summer months. As evidence, he points to the fact that last week was the first in nearly two decades where no single show on any commercial station attracted more than a 9 per cent audience share. "The quality of programming has always been a little cyclical in Japan", comments an executive at rival TV station TBS "but there has never been a period of decline like the one we are seeing now. There are outside factors at work. One is people watching TV on their cell phones where we can't track them, but the really big factor is the time people are spending on the Wii." Of course this begs the obvious question... what the heck are they playing for hours on end? Everybody votes? The Internet?[ Elite ] [ Level 14 ] [ Rank: 706 ]
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He does, and all I was pointing out is that even the original article states they are speculating, but its the media insiders who are blaming it on the Wii, not some outside source. My guess is that this is likely based on some real statistics the Media Companies have that they are not releasing that directly correlates the drop with the launch of the Wii.