Early spring prompted a sudden look back at television in 2016.

Two months have passed since the start of 2017. Last year saw a number of historic events both in Japan and abroad. Overseas, the news of the UK's decision to leave the EU (June) and Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election (November) received significant coverage. Domestically, attention focused on Yuriko Koike, who was elected as the first female governor of Tokyo (July), while the announcement of His Majesty the Emperor's intention to abdicate during his lifetime (August) came as a surprise to the whole of Japan. Meanwhile, in the entertainment industry, the year began with reports of SMAP's breakup and an apology scandal, leading to the group's dissolution at the end of the year. We look back on this year of many "unthinkable" events, along with topics surrounding television and viewership ratings.
First, let's review the top-rated programs of 2016 [Figure 1].

First place went to NHK's "Kōhaku Uta Gassen" (Red and White Song Battle). While the generational shift among performing artists became a talking point, the program demonstrated its strength once again, with Part 2 exceeding 40% for the first time in two years. Following "Kōhaku" were long-running programs reaching milestones: Fuji TV's "SMAP×SMAP," which ended to much regret, and Nippon TV's "Shōten," hosted for the first time by Shōfukutei Shōta. Furthermore, alongside the ever-popular "Hakone Ekiden," the top 30 also featured the "FIFA Club World Cup," "NPB Japan Series," and "Rio de Janeiro Olympics," making it a year full of sports excitement.

(The top 30 are introduced on the Video Research Ltd. website)

From here, we'll explore the topics that made 2016 television exciting, broken down by genre: sports, drama, and variety.

TOPIC1
Sports - A Fever Pitch Exceeding 50% Viewership in the Hiroshima Area -

One of the most memorable sports events of 2016 was the Japan Series held in October [Chart 2].

The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, whose "divine" performance earned them the 2016 Buzzword of the Year award, clinched their first league championship in 25 years, receiving extensive media coverage. The final Game 6 of the Japan Series, where they narrowly lost the championship to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, recorded a 25.1% rating even in the Kanto region.

The fervor in Hiroshima Prefecture, the Carp's home turf, was particularly noteworthy during this tournament. Compared to the 2013 tournament, where Rakuten's first championship victory after overcoming the Great East Japan Earthquake also sparked local excitement, the intensity in Hiroshima was undeniable. The average viewership rating for the tournament in the Hiroshima region reached 52.4%, exceeding half of all households. Thus, the 2016 Japan Series sparked a localized fever pitch that couldn't be gauged solely from the Kanto region's viewership rankings [Figure 3].

Sports broadcasts also saw another high rating surge at year's end: the "FIFA Club World Cup (FCWC) Final" (26.8%). Kashima Antlers put up a strong fight against powerhouse Real Madrid, packed with global superstars. Many viewers likely sat glued to their TVs, thrilled by this dream matchup. When Gaku Shibasaki scored the go-ahead goal in the 7th minute of the second half, the minute-by-minute ratings skyrocketed.

Even after Cristiano Ronaldo equalized immediately afterward, minute-by-minute ratings continued to trend upward through extra time, peaking at 36.8%. This match clearly showed viewers believed in a miraculous victory for Kashima right up until the final moments.

TOPIC2
Drama ~ "We Married as a Job!" Had Episodes Where "Time-Shifted Viewership" Exceeded Live Ratings ~

Moving on to dramas, the October 2016 season was particularly strong [Figure 4].

Alongside the consistently popular TV Asahi dramas "Doctor X" and "Aibou," there was a flood of hit shows: TBS's "We Married as a Job," whose "Love Dance" became a social phenomenon beyond TV, trending on YouTube; and Nippon TV's "Quietly Amazing! Proofreader Girl Kono Etsuko."

Amidst this, NHK General TV's Taiga drama "Sanada Maru" also recorded its highest average period viewership rating in five years (16.6%). Many supporting characters, not just the leads, were compelling and resonated with viewers. Each time a character's storyline concluded, "◯◯ロス" (missing ◯◯) frequently trended online. After the finale aired, tweets comparing the simultaneous broadcast of the aforementioned FCWC final to the battle between Sanada (red = Kashima) and Tokugawa (white = Real Madrid) flooded in, prompting many to exclaim, "Brilliant!" While Taiga dramas often carry an image of appealing mainly to older audiences, "Sanada Maru" seems to have become a work that could generate excitement even on SNS platforms dominated by younger users.

Now, let's look at the "time-shifted viewership ratings" for "We Married as a Job," which became a massive hit without dropping its ratings once since the premiere. The time-shifted viewership rating for the December 6th episode hit 17.5%, surpassing the real-time viewership rating of 16.9% [Chart 5].

Comparing it to the popular drama "Doctor X" from the same season, while "We Married as a Job" (14.6% average) didn't match "Doctor X"'s ratings (21.5% average), its time-shifted viewership was higher for every single episode. This highlights the show's strong appeal, making viewers eager to catch up even if they had to record it. By tracking both live ratings and time-shifted viewing trends, we can gain a more multidimensional understanding of how different programs are consumed.

 

TOPIC3
Variety Shows ~ The Top 5 Ratings for the Representative Program of a National Idol ~

Finally, from variety shows, I'd like to touch on Fuji TV's "SMAP×SMAP," a program that particularly symbolized last year and was featured among the 2016 best shows mentioned earlier. It aired for a remarkable 20 years and 920 episodes since its debut on April 15, 1996, but its history came to a close on December 26, 2016.
Looking back at 2016, SMAP×SMAP remained a focal point throughout the year—from the dissolution rumors in mid-January, through the official announcement in August, to the group's final year-end broadcast. It consistently served as the venue where all members gathered. Let's revisit the footprints of this flagship program for Japan's national idols, who have consistently led the entertainment world, alongside its ratings [Chart 6].

The commemorative first broadcast achieved a 22.4% rating. Incidentally, the preceding "Monday 9pm" slot on the same day saw the premiere of the hugely popular drama "Long Vacation," starring Takuya Kimura.

The highest rating recorded for any episode was 34.2% on January 14, 2002. This was the episode where Goro Inagaki returned to the show after a seven-month absence, and all five members appeared live. Then, on January 18, 2016, the episode following the dissolution reports at the start of the year featured an apology message from the members, achieving the second-highest rating of the year (31.2%), just behind the "Kōhaku Uta Gassen" (Red and White Song Contest), and ranking fourth highest in the show's history. The final episode, broadcast on December 26, achieved a rating of 23.1% (Part 3), closing the show with an extended 288-minute special, the longest in the program's history.

It's truly sad to think we won't see unique "SMAP×SMAP" segments like BISTRO SMAP, where viewers felt like they were eating the members' homemade meals, or collaborations with major celebrities. However, I sincerely hope each former member continues to lead and thrive in Japanese television.

What did you think? Looking back at the topics surrounding television in 2016, it really hits home how commonplace it has become for TV content to spark buzz on social media, or conversely, for online excitement to drive TV viewership, and for TV content to be consumed in diverse ways like timeshift viewing and web video streaming. Furthermore, 2016 saw the continued spread of VOD services like the commercial broadcaster portal "TVer," "Hulu," and "Netflix." Additionally, the internet TV service "AbemaTV" dramatically increased its app downloads in just over half a year since its April launch.

This year will undoubtedly see these trends accelerate further. While the expansion of video content is often cited as reducing TV viewership, it also means more opportunities to engage with television content. Reflecting on this, I was reminded how sports and entertainment content that energized the year spread "with TV as the hub."

As we begin to feel the first hints of spring in 2017, what kind of topics will emerge from television this year? I sincerely hope for an endless stream of uplifting stories that inspire and encourage people.