While the current format landscape faces pressures such as tight budgets, declining linear viewership and consumer fatigue with the array of choices on offer, there\u2019s always a demand for new genres in the market, according to Ryuji Komiya, Fuji Television Network\u2019s head of unscripted format sales. \u201cFuji TV has a variety of genres of formats to offer, from classic titles to innovative new concepts, allowing us to flexibly respond to market needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company had its game competition format\u00a0Run for Money<\/em>\u00a0commissioned for a fourth season in China and has seen interest in several other Asian and European markets. Additionally, its new format\u00a0VS School\u2014The Ultimate Hide and Seek<\/em>, another game competition, has been optioned in Germany. Classic titles such as\u00a0Hole in the Wall<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Noise<\/em>, distributed by Fremantle, have been commissioned in Hungary and Mexico, respectively. \u201cLooking ahead, we believe there is a strong demand for classic format titles in the market,\u201d Komiya says. \u201cThus, we are optimistic about relaunching our renowned\u00a0Iron Chef<\/em>\u00a0title in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n Komiya adds that to secure a pickup today, new concepts must possess elements that appeal to younger audiences. \u201cDue to the decline in linear viewership, our aim is to captivate younger generations and encourage them to watch TV,\u201d he says. \u201cOne of our latest formats,\u00a0VS School\u2014The Ultimate Hide and Seek<\/em>, features a large-scale hide-and-seek game set in a whole school! Celebrities disguise themselves as real-life props, such as pianos and tree stumps, while students must find all the hidden celebrities within a set time to win the prize. This segment, part of our Saturday prime-time program\u00a0The New Key<\/em>, has gained immense popularity among young viewers in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n Fuji TV\u2019s well-known titles such as\u00a0Hole in the Wall<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Iron Chef<\/em>\u00a0continue to perform and are returning or getting recommissioned in the market over the years. \u201cWith tight budgets everywhere in the world, everyone is looking for a format that is well-branded instead of taking a risk on a new format or unknown format from abroad, and I think our two top formats are being recognized as well-branded,\u201d Komiya says.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, demand for Japanese scripted formats has increased as of late, according to Yuri Akimoto, Fuji TV\u2019s head of scripted format sales. She says this is in part due to the rise of Korean content on the global stage. \u201cJapanese scripted formats have been highly demanded, especially among Asian countries, but recently, we are receiving more offers from Europe and America. We think it can be said that the increased demand for Korean content has also led to greater attention being paid to Japanese content, which is culturally similar. We are receiving many offers from abroad, especially for content with universal themes and feasible with low budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n Fuji TV has numerous formats available in its archive, too. \u201cWhile a single format may not entirely meet the market\u2019s needs, we can leverage these formats to co-produce an entirely new show,\u201d Komiya says. \u201cFor instance, one of our ongoing projects with our French partner StoryPlus involves using some of our classic formats to create an original game show tailored for the French market. This approach allows us to adapt the Japanese original format to better suit local preferences, thereby saving costs while ensuring the format\u2019s reliability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ryuji Komiya and Yuri Akimoto share how Fuji TV is responding to the market\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":11013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[4076,2550,4077],"class_list":["post-11012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-fuji-tv-network","tag-ryuji-komiya","tag-yuri-akimoto","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n