July 2015
Longitudinal Analyses of the NHK Nationwide Surveys on Individual Audience Ratings
Masashi Funakoshi
The NHK Broadcasting Culture Institute has several times presented findings regarding the difference in TV viewing between the Kanto and Kinki regions, or the east-west gap, based on the analyses of the NHK Nationwide Surveys on Individual Audience Ratings. The 2004 article reported that the east-west gap had become smaller, but the latest survey observed a distinctive east-west gap at weekday nights although entire viewing hours showed only a small difference. In specific, commercial TV programs are watched more in Kinki than in Kanto, which is influenced by the fact that TV viewing at night has decreased in Kanto over during recent years while night TV viewing is still popular in Kinki. By generation, an east-west gap was found among young to middle-aged generations, or those who in their 20s through 50s: dramas and variety programs with a “western flavor” in the cast or content are especially popular in Kinki. Behind this trend is that Kinki people have a long-rooted culture of enjoying entertainment programs at night and this culture unique to the Kinki region seems not to wane easily although the TV viewing at weekday nights exhibits a gradual decrease trend nationwide. This article is a reconstructed edition, centering on the analyses of the surveys, of a report on the presentation at “Bunken FORUM” held in March 2015.