[sumo] Classic sumo

[Lon Howard]

On Jun 23, 2008, at 11:18 PM, Clay Holden wrote:

> On 6/23/08 8:36 PM, "Lon Howard" <itsulon at wavecable.com> wrote:
>
>> If TV Japan dropped the ozumo
>> coverage, it would cause hardly a ripple in their viewer-ship.  It's
>> included in their package for the same reason that it's still carried
>> on NHK, and that's because there is a perceived obligation to
>> continue promoting an awareness of the Japanese heritage.  It
>> wouldn't be a difficult decision for TV Japan to drop coverage of
>> ozumo if they thought it was no longer a relevant reflection of that
>> heritage.  Since they're more profit-oriented than NHK, they might
>> even drop it if they simply thought it could be replaced with
>> something that would attract more viewers.
>
> I really rather doubt this, as in my experience TV Japan has been very
> responsive to American sumo fans' feedback. Not only did they  
> expand their
> coverage of the bashos from 90 minutes to a full 120 (in fairness,  
> after
> being called on NHK's original bulls**t excuse on this list), but  
> in one
> instance actually took the trouble to respond to me to let me know  
> when they
> would be broadcasting the NHK feature story on Kotooshou, after  
> initially
> saying they had no information on it.
>
> Along the same lines, Dish Network, having interrupted the  
> broadcast of one
> of the bashos last year to do "regular network maintenance during off-
> hours", apologized and passed the word up the line when I called  
> them and
> said it was tantamount to pre-empting the Super Bowl for sumo fans.
>
> We may not have many options for televised coverage of Ozumo, but I  
> truly
> believe that TV Japan does both listen to and respond to feedback  
> from their
> subscribers. They may be the only game in town, but they do seem to  
> realize
> that a good percentage of their subscribers are American-born  
> Japanophiles
> who count on them to provide not only live NHK news-feeds and taigo- 
> dramas,
> but also expect proper coverage of Japan's national sport.
>
> If TV Japan was really only interested in attracting more viewers,  
> they
> might well offer screenings of old Nikkatsu "pinku-eiga" during the
> late-night hours, and probably pick up a fairly significant number of
> subscribers of another sort.... ;-)
>
> And if NHK was as responsive to viewer opinion as TV Japan is, more  
> Japanese
> viewers might be inclined to pay the bills they receive each month.

I agree with you regarding TV Japan's service regarding sumo - it's  
been exemplary.  I simply meant - but not clearly expressed - that  
they COULD easily drop sumo coverage IF they thought it wasn't  
relevant anymore OR profitable.  Under these conditions it would be  
an easy decision because they wouldn't lose that many subscribers.   
Most subscribe to TV Japan for reasons other than sumo.  Thanks,

- Shomishuu