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I read this
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20090220TDY13002.htm
'Makoto Fukuda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
The day finally has come. I could not help getting emotional when I heard the news that the NTV network will terminate its one-hour 7 p.m. Monday cartoon slot at the end of March as part of the broadcaster's massive reprogramming. Beginning in April, a live variety program called Surprise is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Monday to Friday.
Yomiuri Telecasting Corp., part of the NTV network, has been responsible for the cartoon slot for a long time. The Osaka-based company has made a lot of hit programs, including City Hunter, Yawara!, Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo and Inu Yasha. Detective Conan and Yatterman are still being aired, but Conan will now be aired from 6 p.m., Saturday, and Yatterman from 7 a.m. on Sunday, beginning in April. Moreover, the chances are slim Yatterman will be aired on many local stations since its new time slot does not broadcast nationally.
TV stations once competed with each other to air quality animation in the prime-time hours of 7-10 p.m., particularly in the slot from 7 p.m., earning the support of young viewers. They were able to garner ratings of more than 20 percent with some programs. However, due to the decrease in the number of children because of the low birthrate, and in light of the diversification of means of entertainment now available to children, such as video games and mobile phones, the potential audience for anime programs in prime time has dwindled significantly.
According to Video Research Ltd., which measures TV program viewer ratings, the annual average viewer ratings for animation aired between 6 p.m. and midnight in the Kanto region decreased to 6.9 percent in 2005, down from 13 percent in 1990.
In October 2006, the Fuji TV network moved One Piece, which was then its only prime-time animation program, to a different time slot. Because of the upcoming program rescheduling at NTV, the only widely available animation programs left in prime time will be Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan, both broadcast by the TV Asahi network. There are also some programs aired by the network led by TV Tokyo, but it does not have many affiliated TV stations.
TV viewing habits not only in prime time but for terrestrial broadcasts in general are believed to have been changing in recent years, partly due to the widespread availability of satellite or cable television services, as well as due to a trend of working people getting home at later hours. It is clear that animation is no longer the central player in prime time.
Producer Michihiko Suwa, who has been in charge of animation programming at Yomiuri Telecasting, viewed the change in broadcasting hours in a positive light, writing in his company blog that it will "open the door to a new era!" But I cannot help feeling a pang of loss, as I grew up enjoying the various anime that were aired in prime time.
The demographic who support the animation market now, through watching late night anime shows or buying animation DVDs, are mainly those in their 20s and 30s who grew up enjoying such shows. I wonder what it will be like for animation several decades from now, when children of the current generation grow up without it.
(Feb. 20, 2009)
What it tells is that the trend of people watching animes during those prime time timeslot (1900-2000) is going down rapidly, and ironically it;s because Japan are producing less and less children.
Time to let the otaku loose?
