Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Nippon TV, a major Japanese broadcasting station, has announced a large-scale restructuring to establish a certified holding company and integrate the management of four core stations in response to changes in the Japanese broadcasting environment, Toyo Keizai Online reported.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has finally taken the plunge after witnessing the plight of local stations, whose advertising revenues have slumped due to the effects of the Internet in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Nippon TV HD has reportedly acted in line with this movement.

The ministry has been gradually relaxing previous restrictions on broadcasting stations, including the “principle to eliminate mass media concentration” that prevents the same company from controlling multiple stations.

According to Toyo Keizai Online, a source familiar with the broadcasting industry said, “Some local stations may disappear between this year and next year,” but added that Nippon TV “is not trying to rescue small stations that are in financial difficulty, but rather appears to be taking an aggressive approach to establishing a structure to strengthen its management base through restructuring and respond to changes in the advertising market and the rise of distribution platforms. The specific effects of the merger are still unknown, but the impression is that it is one step ahead of the other major stations.”