Studio Ghibli to Become Nippon TV Subsidiary

Nippon TV is taking a controlling stake in Studio Ghibli, with Hayao Miyazaki’s acclaimed animation outfit set to become a subsidiary of the Japanese media group.

Nippon TV will own 42.3 percent of Studio Ghibli’s voting shares. Financial terms were not disclosed.

According to a press release, the move will allow Studio Ghibli to focus on creative aspects while Nippon TV oversees the management of the famed animation studio. The companies noted that Studio Ghibli has been struggling with succession issues given that Miyazaki is now 92 and Toshio Suzuki, the studio’s president, is 75. Miyazaki’s son Goro, himself an animation director, did not want to take on leadership of the company.

Nippon TV first started doing business with Studio Ghibli in the 1980s, with the Friday Road Show movie block airing Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1985. Nippon TV also contributed to the financing of the 1989 release Kiki’s Delivery Service and supported the establishment of the Ghibli Museum.