Posted on 06/13/2002 12:39:11 AM PDT by pseudogratix
My TV just flashed a notice that Fox News will come to and end as of July 31, 2002 here in Japan and so I frantically called up News Broadcasting Japan. In my phone conversation with Sugu Koizumi, the primary press contact of News Broadcasting Japan, I found out that they were a really small company within News Corporation, and were fighting tooth and nail to keep Fox News on the air, but that several factors were working against them and they simply have to give up.
(1) The low subscriber level was killing them (only about 4,000 he said). Obviously, not many Japanese are going to watch Fox News as it is only available in English as you see it in the States (which I think is a good thing, but that is a different topic). Last December, they tried airing National Geographic during part of the day to try to increase subscription levels to Fox News, but apparently this failed. (At the time I misunderstood their intentions, since I received no response from NBJ at that time – see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/571129/posts)
(2) I am not sure I correctly understood Mr. Koizumi, but apparently, there is a restriction on package sizes, so SkyPerfecTV can't just offer channels like Fox News in a entry level package to help increase the number of subscribers. Apparently there are regulations restricting package sizes or something.
(3) Apparently there is a lot of costs involved in broadcasting even though the content is left untouched from the USA (no Japanese added, et al), the details of which I don't remember, but the bottom line was that Fox (in New York) declined to provide the funds necessary to keep Fox on in Japan, even though NBJ begged them to help. He also said that the Fox Japan channel (Simpsons, X-Files, et al) wasn't enough to carry Fox News, but that it in fact was also operating in the red.)
So, the way I see it is that we need to freep Fox. Please freep-mail Fox to help News Broadcasting Japan keep Fox News on the air in Japan. Send your email to comments@foxnews.com
It has come to our attention that Sky Perfect is discontinuing their carriage of FOX News Channel in Japan. We hope that you have enjoyed the channel and will help us in our efforts to bring FOX News back into your home. You can contact Sky Perfect directly via their website, www.skyperfectv.co.jp and let them know how much you loved the channel and you can also contact the Committee to Save FOX News in Japan:
THE COMMITTEE TO SAVE FOX NEWS Sally Reed Impastato, Chairman Homat Governor #503 1-5-17 Roppongi Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032 (03) 3584-5394 sallyimp@gol.com
FOX News Channel is the #1 Cable News Channel in America because of our commitment to fair and balanced news. We value all of our viewers and trust that together we can work to keep FOX News Channel on in Japan.
Best Regards, Viewer Services FOX News Channel
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