NHK’s Katsuto Momii

As the president of Japan’s NHK, Katsuto Momii is tasked with making sure the public broadcaster delivers on its promise to its license-fee payers, keeping Japanese citizens informed of the latest developments in the country. NHK also invests heavily in high-end drama, kids’ programming, entertainment and blue-chip international docs. As the country gears up to host the 2020 Olympic Games, Momii talks about about keeping pace with media consumption trends and technological advancements.

TV ASIA: What can viewers find on NHK that they won’t find on the commercial broadcasters?
MOMII: We recognize that a friendly rivalry between NHK and the commercial broadcasters in various programming genres enables the realization of broadcasting that meets a diversity of viewers’ needs and expectations. As a public broadcaster funded by receiving fees paid by our broad viewer audience, NHK has the role of providing viewers with reliable information and a rich diversity of programming without being influenced by specific interest groups or viewing figures. We are especially conscious of this point in our programming. Viewers hold high expectations for NHK. Another of NHK’s strengths is our wide-ranging network. NHK has more than 60 local broadcasting stations and offices spread throughout Japan, as well as 30 overseas offices. Our ability to provide a diversity of programming in a timely manner through multiple channels—including seven domestic TV and radio channels and international broadcasting—is another major characteristic of NHK that cannot be found among commercial broadcasters.

TV ASIA: Tell us about the current NHK Corporate Plan.
MOMII: The NHK Corporate Plan sets out our overall direction of striving to become a more accessible and trustworthy public medium by providing our audiences with broadcasts and services of the highest standard in 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The three-year period from the 2015 fiscal year is the first step toward realizing this vision.

[Providing] accurate reporting…and rich and varied content is one of the important means we have set out in enriching and enhancing our broadcasts and services. This is the fifth year since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Our programming has focused on issues such as the current situation in the disaster-hit areas, disaster preparedness and nuclear power plants through news and special programs. Although there was a series of major natural disasters last year, NHK stations as a whole provided more reporting for disaster preparedness and disaster mitigation through the nationwide network and by harnessing new technologies such as IP relays. We are also meeting the expectations of our audiences in various ways, such as conveying matters of strong public concern through a range of angles, providing programs relating to the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and [airing popular] morning drama serials.

Let us touch next on NHK actively conveying Japan to the world. Twenty new programs were added in the 2015 fiscal year to our English-language international channel, NHK World TV. The channel has also done more to actively convey the allure of different parts of Japan to the world.

NHK is also concerned about creating broadcasts and services that open up new possibilities. An experimental online provision of programs broadcast on NHK General TV was undertaken for the first time last year to gauge various issues, such as the needs of users, copyright and so on. The experiments will continue so as to improve and upgrade services. Moreover, to ensure a smooth start to the test broadcasts for 8K (Super Hi-Vision), we produced programs, installed equipment and carried out trial transmissions with broadcasting satellites.

TV ASIA: As media platforms proliferate, what role do you see public broadcasting continuing to play in Japan?
MOMII: We are in an age where all kinds of information are flitting between people and moving across national borders. Although we have a greater diversity of information, some people also point to the proliferation of information of a dubious nature and the weakening of mutual bonds. We believe it will be increasingly important for NHK…to share global [and local] issues and meet expectations concerning the public function of the media in linking people together with accurate information. We believe that NHK’s raison d’être lies in actively providing a reliable social infrastructure of information and in making a contribution to the development of a healthy democracy and the improvement of cultural standards.

TV ASIA: What challenges does NHK face in terms of the public license-fee system?
MOMII: NHK’s operating income almost entirely consists of its receiving fees. They are provided for under the idea that every household which has installed a TV receiver should contribute to a fair share of the necessary costs of NHK undertaking its duties as the public broadcaster. It is a system of funding that ensures greater independence for NHK.

The first issue for the receiving-fee system is making sure everyone is contributing his or her fair share. The current Corporate Plan has enhanced the measures for this. At the end of the 2014 fiscal year (March 31, 2015), the receiving fees were being paid by 76 percent of the households required to do so. Efforts are being made to increase this figure to 80 percent by the end of the 2017 fiscal year (March 31, 2018). There is also the issue of convincing audiences to pay the fees. Efforts will be made to foster greater understanding among audiences of the significance of public broadcasting and the system of receiving fees. Another major issue is reducing the costs incurred in the NHK receiving contracts and the collection of fees.

We are aware of the importance of studies concerning the relationship between the system of receiving fees and online simulcasts of television. We are investigating the issue of simultaneous television and online broadcasts in light of this situation, and we are also pursuing studies on a system of receiving fees suited to a new age.

TV ASIA: How are your 4K and 8K trials progressing? What other new technologies are you developing?
MOMII: Test satellite broadcasts of 8K (Super Hi-Vision) ultra-high-definition television commenced on August 1 this year. Initially, they were mostly live 8K relays of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. After the Olympics, programs are being aired specifically for Super Hi-Vision in genre-specific time slots, including travel, music and entertainment, nature and science, and drama. Because receiving equipment to pick up the test broadcasts is not yet on the market, 8K monitors have been set up at NHK stations across Japan, enabling people to experience the compelling high-definition images and sound. NHK has produced content that takes advantage of the ultra-high-definition images that Super Hi-Vision can offer, including major sporting events, historically significant structures, works of art, nature and science. We are striving to produce more. We are accelerating the research and development of large, lightweight, sheet-like displays and sound reproduction technologies so that more people can enjoy 8K broadcasts in their homes. Effort is also being put into the development of transmission technologies for future terrestrial broadcasts, production devices for the enhancement of 8K programs and archiving environments.

Research is being done on what things might be like in 20 years’ time. 3D TV not requiring any special glasses is one important subject of our research. We are also striving to establish multi-pixel filming and display formats surpassing 8K, as well as technologies for the next generation of 3D telecasts.

TV ASIA: What are your top priorities for NHK in 2017 and beyond?
MOMII: In NHK’s vision under the current Three-Year Corporate Plan, the target is to use the latest technologies to achieve the highest quality broadcasts and services in 2020. We are speeding up the work on Super Hi-Vision and internet use. NHK will continue to produce first-class content that responds appropriately to evolving audience needs. We will devote our energy to creating attractive programs that will be appreciated around the world and unprecedented services.

For these purposes, one operating issue that requires an immediate, tangible response is the practical Super Hi-Vision broadcasts. 4K and 8K broadcasts are aimed to start in 2018 in Japan. NHK will decide its future course on the basis of full discussions on what kind of programming is needed to provide attractive services and how the formal broadcasts will be funded.

Internet use is another big area. The internet content-distribution business is becoming ever more competitive, as evidenced, for example, by Netflix’s launch of its Japanese service last autumn. NHK, too, believes that it is going to be increasingly important to establish its presence in the world of the internet. By accumulating the knowledge for full-scale internet use through the live streams from the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games and [experimenting with] simultaneous television and online broadcasts, we will look into ways to realize the diverse services that viewers demand.