The pay is five times that of terrestrial broadcasting and the filming period is more than double， and Netflix’s rapid growth has caused outcry in the television drama world．
0001Shogun of the Expeditionary Forces★.Sep. 1, 2024 (Sun) 12:43:36.12ID:Dib+tpCr9
Daily Shincho September 1, 2024 Netflix, whose original drama “Jihansha-tachi” (7 episodes) is a huge hit, is stealing actors from TV dramas. This is because Netflix’s production costs and fees are both about five times higher than those of a television drama. Due to stagnant advertising revenue, production costs and salaries for television dramas have remained constant for the past five years. If things continue like this, the television drama industry will be in a serious situation. [Takahori Fuyuhiko/Broadcast columnist, journalist] For talent agencies, the existence of Netflix is a ray of hope. There was more work and income was rising. Netflix, which was founded in the United States in 1997, began its service in Japan in 2015. In the same year, he also produced the drama “Underwear,” in which Mirei Kiritani (34) played the main character, an office lady working for a lingerie manufacturer. Since then, he has continued to produce 208 live-action dramas and films a year. Moreover, Netflix’s economic sense seems to be American, and they are very generous. In the case of television dramas, the production cost of an hour-long prime time (7pm; 11pm) drama is an average of 30 million yen per episode, but the production cost of an hour-long Netflix drama is about five times that amount. It has easily surpassed 100 million yen. The fee is about five times higher. In the case of television dramas, the lead actor’s salary is around 1.5 million to 3 million yen per episode for a one-hour production, but if he stars in a one-hour Netflix production, his salary will easily exceed 10 million yen. Anthony (34), from the comedy duo Matenrō, who appeared in “Jiangashira-tachi” as the gangster Orochi, also received good pay. On August 25th, Anthony appeared on the local information program “Kaminuma and Takada’s Kugizuke!” produced by Yomiuri TV and Chukyo TV. MC Emiko Uemura (69) said, “I think Netflix pays a fair amount. When asked, “That’s why the actors’ eyes sparkle differently,” he confided, “At my level, I’m like, ’Wow, I get that much…’’ In the case of television dramas, the fifth or sixth ranked actor’s fee is around 100,000 to 200,000 yen per episode. This amount of money is so small it’s hard to make a living, so actors are forced to take on other projects at the same time. Recently, there has been an increase in actors appearing in multiple TV dramas, and the main reason for this is that the pay for TV dramas is low. Managers in charge of mid-level and lower-level actors are racking their brains over how to give them good-paying jobs. Although NHK is not affected by the economy, its drama fees are about half that of private broadcasters. Producing television dramas is tough for any station. On the other hand, Netflix has plenty of production funds, so it can afford to cast a star-studded cast. The cast of “The Land Fraudsters” includes leading actors such as Ayano Go (42), Toyokawa Etsushi (62), Koike Eiko (43), Sometani Shota (31), Lily Franky (60), and Ikeda Elaiza (28). That would be impossible on today’s TV dramas. ■ Money can’t win in the TV world “House of Ninjas” became a worldwide hit when it was released in February, and stars Kaku Kento (35), Eguchi Yosuke (56), Kora Kengo (36), Kimura Tae (53), Emoto Tokio (34), Yoshioka Riho (31), Yamada Takayuki (40), and Miyamoto Nobuko (79). After all, this lineup wouldn’t be possible in a TV drama. Netflix has many popular and blockbuster titles planned for the future. First up, on September 19th, they will begin streaming “Very Evil Queen,” which depicts the world of women’s professional wrestling in the 1980s. The main character, Dump Matsumoto, is played by Yuriyan Retriever (33). The role of Lioness Asuka will be played by Ayame Goriki (32). Erika Karata (26), who was once heavily criticized by the public for her affair with Masahiro Higashide (36), will play Chigusa Nagayo. There is also “The Great Shinkansen Explosion.” It is a remake of a classic film starring the late Ken Takakura. The film will star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (50), a favorite of Takeru, and will be directed by Shin Godzilla director Shinji Higuchi (58). Due to issues such as art costs, it will probably be impossible to adapt this into a television drama. The release date will be decided in the future. There’s more. The film is a remake of the hidden masterpiece “Gas Man No. 1” (1960) by director Honda Ishiro, who was known as the “uncrowned master” and directed the first “Godzilla” (1954). The release date will be announced soon. Shun Oguri (41) and Yu Aoi (39) will appear in the film. It would probably be difficult for these two to meet in a TV drama these days. The issue is not so much about the pay, but rather the production environment. Aoi has been working less on TV dramas in recent years. Netflix’s filming periods are more than twice as long as those of TV dramas. A television drama that is broadcast for one season (three months) takes about three months to film, but a Netflix drama takes more than six months to shoot each of its 10 episodes. There is plenty of time, so the actors can discuss things with the director as they film. It’s appealing to the actors. In the case of “First Love” (9 episodes), which was distributed by Netflix in 2022 and stars Hikari Mitsushima (38) and Takeru Sato (35), filming took about a year. That’s about four times the length of a TV drama. For that reason, it was highly praised. *See sources below.
>>1 It wouldn’t matter if a Japanese TV station went bankrupt. The TV industry is the only one that’s protected too much from the perspective of other industries.
>>1 Japan’s entertainment TV industry has been too distorted up until now It would be better if that industry collapsed Japan can only change through external pressure.
>>1 TV stations should cut down on their operations, reorganize the industry to reduce the number of stations, and focus on news. Low-quality, no-budget, trashy variety shows and dramas are just a waste. Leave those genres to video sites like Netflix, which have ample budgets.
They say an actor is on the decline as soon as he stops appearing in TV dramas, but it’s the actors who continue to appear in such low-quality dramas who are finished.
When the money runs out, the relationship ends. It’s a shame that TV stations have been so collusive with talent agencies that they put their favorite actors on TV.
>>11 Well, I guess it’s the trend of the times. The amount of advertising money going into the TV industry is now less than that of YouTube. It’s expected to continue to decrease, so they’re definitely going to be short on cash. Newspaper companies are likely to go under first, but TV stations will follow the same path eventually.
It’s a matter of whether the script is good or not, so TV stations should train scriptwriters. If the script is good, the actors will usually want to be involved.
I see articles like this about Netflix exclusives before production, but I don’t think I listen to them after release. Well, I don’t have a contract with them so I don’t know.
Many Japanese dramas are made with the lead actor in mind, based on the power dynamics of the agency, before funding is even considered, so they tend to be stale.
The Shinkansen Explosion is a movie, right? It’s a movie, so you can watch it all at once, but would it be interesting to watch it split into one season or something?
They’re trying to make interesting dramas here. The TV dramas are promotional videos for Johnny’s, idols, models, and other talents they want to promote.
The money has been lost, but the powerful format still remains. So there is only one thing to do. Let the creators who seek passion over money do what they want and don’t interfere unnecessarily. Don’t force strange ideas or pressure from certain groups. Make sure you have a firm backing to fend off pointless complaints. That’s it.
First off, Japan needs to hire actors who can act properly. They’re just filled with people the big agencies want to promote so it’s pretty awful. And the content is flimsy. They don’t have the money so the sets are cheap. I heard it’s been running for a long time so I watched Kasouken and was shocked by how unrealistic the set was. What the hell, there’s no way Kasouken would be a nice place like that lol. I thought it was some fancy company cafeteria.
For example, in Sanctuary, they had their actors train their bodies for the role of sumo wrestlers for two years before production began, right? The level of seriousness they put into their acting is totally different, so it’s no wonder that a Japanese TV station could win.
If the filming time is three or four times longer than that of a terrestrial TV station, surely it makes sense that the fees would be correspondingly higher? Of course, they’re probably paying more than simply proportionally.
When I saw Shogun, I thought, “Even if it’s not made in Japan, it can be done if the contents are filled by Japanese staff.” It didn’t look cheap at all.
However, until a few years ago when Netflix took off, the world’s largest subscription was the NHK reception fee. If a taiga drama is limited to around eight episodes, the production costs can be more than Netflix’s.
Netflix has a subscription rate of 6% and its highest viewership rate is 6%. Even if they’re making money worldwide, I wish they’d release it on Amazon Prime a year later.
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