Last year, Omisoka’s “71st NHK Red and White Song Battle” Part 2 (9:00 pm) had an average audience of 40.3% in the Kanto area (39.3% in the Kanto area Kansai). I found out by doing research. It increased by 3.0 points from 37.3% the previous year and recovered to the level of 40% for the first time in two years, but the first part was 34.2%, 0.5 points less than the year previous. The individual audience rate is 29.6% for Part 2 (27.7% for the Kanto and Kansai areas) and 25.0% for Part 1 (23.2% for the Kanto and Kansai areas ). The number of viewers in Part 2 reached 34.47 million.

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The household audience rate (Kanto area) recovered to the 40% level for the first time in two years. I believe the event was held safely, the numbers were reasonable, and NHK was relieved. From the viewer’s point of view, the singing of the great singer in the final stage seems to have been successful as a musical program.

However, red and white are a “singing battle”. The concept was to play songs live in the hall, and on Showa it was recognized as a national program with an incredible audience. Therefore, the singing side has also felt the status of participation.

In the past, there have been many discussions about participating in the broadcast. However, this time it will be held without spectators, and there is no need to consider audience seating. Inevitably, the number of VTR insertions increased. However, it also means that it is no different from a normal music program. If you listen to the song carefully, I think the SONGS special is fine.

Also, if pre-recording is allowed, it is possible to get the best performance. If many viewers want to “hear the song,” it is not necessary to stick to live songs.

This year will be the year NHK’s reception fee system will be discussed. If you use a lot of VTR, you can significantly reduce the huge cost of red and white. What good is it that public broadcasting invests a large amount of production costs to produce music programs? A fundamental discussion is expected.[Akira Takemura]