Japan’s TV Producer Legend Takes a Risk Partnering with a German Broadcaster

We may witness a wave of television co-operations between Japan and other countries in the nearest future.

ZDF and Fuji Television

Japanese businesses keep opening up to the world and with good results. The newest unexpected collaboration involves two big companies, Fuji TV from Japan and ZDF Enterprises from Germany, with a project that strives for global success.

At the zenith of this collaboration stands a TV drama series that focuses on one of the most popular sport both in Germany and Japan, football. With the last World Cup behind us, there’s no need to explain just how popular football is around the planet and these two broadcasting magnates have decided that there is a global audience for football drama.

Let’s take a look at the details surrounding this collaboration and see how this cross-continental project came into being.

“The Window”

The TV Drama will be called “The Window” and, as the name implies, it is set within a ten week period of the Premier League transfer window. The plot revolves around a huge transfer contract and should offer a more nuanced and behind-the-scenes view of football as a business environment.

We know quite a few things about the TV drama already. The cast will be a combination of Hollywood and Japanese actors, with the auditions for the latter already scheduled. This international cast should bring a unique flavor to the show involving very different style, but also deepening the range of characters involved and almost guaranteeing an interesting cultural clash to keep things fresh.

To deepen this international collaboration, a British production company will be responsible for the shooting, which is scheduled to start in 2019. This only makes sense as the whole show will be in English and a scriptwriter from Britain will be handling the writing. The drama is planned to air in 2020 but we will probably get a lot more details on this show along the way.

Being that these two collaborators have a great impact in their respective zones of influence (Asia and Europe) the project is well backed and has the potential to reach a wide audience.

Japan on the global TV market

This is a big move for Fuji TV. They are attempting an ambitious push into the global TV market and they have secured key partners that complement their resources in this endeavor.

Alongside offering the show to broadcasters around the world, the plan is to push “The Window” to the online streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon.

Provided that these two collaborators have a great impact in their respective zones of influence (Asia and Europe) the project is well backed and has the potential to reach a wide audience. The project has joint funding handled by Fuji TV and ZTF Enterprises.

The “Cool Japan” initiative has hit a wall with the broadcasting agencies being forced to offer their products to other Asian countries. Through this massive investment that costs Fuji Television Network a staggering 18 million dollars, they are making ambitious steps to enter the global entertainment market.

This situation wouldn’t have been possible without the rise of global streaming services around the world. The younger generations avoid television as they are not really used to being forced to sit down every day at a specific time to gain access to the program they are interested in.

They want the flexibility to enjoy their entertainment at the time of their own choice, which is a problem solved by Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon – their growth also shows very few signs of subsiding if at all.

According to Toru Ota, executive director of Fuji Television, the time is right for a global push for TV dramas. In his statement, he claims that the “Golden Age of Drama Series” is ongoing and that the timing is perfect for a big investment like the one at hand.

This is a new environment for Ota, since his previous track record is filled with romantic shows like “Tokyo Love Story”, “Give Us Love”, and similar projects. It seems that Ota understands this and is looking forward to the challenge.

The change in TV dramas in recent years

This conclusion is hard to argue with when we look at the broadcasting success of TV Dramas like Game of Thrones, Taboo, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and many, many others. A more complex and deeper approach to handling TV shows is supported by praise from the global audience.

The short-form of movie blockbusters has hit a plateau and, aside from superhero movies, shows a period of steady stagnation.

TV dramas, with their long-form approach, on the other hand, offer a lot more to the audience. They offer character growth and a more detailed and meaty storyline that the audience can really tap into and resonate with.

According to Ota, Fuji Television is attempting to rely on their German partners to reach the European market and the streaming Internet television outlets to reach North America and the rest of the world. Only time will tell how successful this project will be but a lot of what we know seems quite promising.

Still, we will keep an eye on the progress of this show and if it ends up being successful, we may have a new wave of interesting TV shows to look forward to. This is good news for TV show fans, as we will be offered shows with different themes, perspectives, and production styles. Again, we can expect to get the final product sometime in 2020. Until then, all we can do is keep track of any news.

Today’s “otsumami” – a bite size snack:

The collaborative project between German ZDF Enterprises and Japanese Fuji Television – “The Window” –  may be the first of many others. It can create a new pool of investment possibilities.

What do you think?

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