Skip to main content

MGC Race Olympic Marathon Trials TV Broadcast Earns 29.9% Viewership Ratings

For the first time, the TBS and NHK television networks collaborated to produce a joint broadcast of Sunday's Marathon Grand Championship Olympic marathon trials. TBS covered the men's race and NHK simultaneously broadcast the women's race, with both networks sharing the same feed before the start and switching between each others' footage mid-race to show updates on the other gender's race. According to Video Research Inc., TBS' broadcast of the men's race earned viewership ratings of 16.4%. NHK's broadcast of the women's race scored ratings of 13.5%, giving the joint broadcast a combined rating of 29.9%.

The men's race began at 8:50 a.m. and the women's race at 9:10. Both networks' broadcasts began at 8:00. NHK commentator Masanori Aiba, a member of popular boy band Arashi, and TBS announcer Shinichiro Yasuzumi appeared together onscreen to jointly introduce the races. Aiba said, "This is the first-ever collaborative broadcast that goes beyond the boundaries of a single TV network." Yasuzumi added, "Whichever channel you are watching right now, you will be seeing the same video feed." Throughout the races, TBS' Ryusuke Ito and NHK's Teruyoshi Komiyama served as "correspondents," each appearing repeatedly on the other networks' broadcast to give updates on the action within the race their own network was covering.

Shogo Nakamura (26, Fujitsu) and Yuma Hattori (25, Toyota) took the top two spots in the men's race to win spots on the Olympic team. 3rd placer Suguru Osako (28, Nike Oregon Project) earned a provisional place on the team pending the outcome of this winter's MGC Final Challenge series in which other men can steal his spot if they run 2:05:49 or better in one of the three major domestic men's marathons, Fukuoka International, Tokyo and Lake Biwa. Honami Maeda (23, Tenmaya) and Ayuko Suzuki (27, Japan Post) likewise went 1-2 in the women's race to join the Olympic team, with 3rd-placer Rei Ohara (29, Tenmaya) on hold depending on whether other women can run 2:22:22 in Saitama, Osaka International or Nagoya in the women's Final Challenge.

Translator's note: For comparison, this year's Hakone Ekiden earned record-setting viewership ratings of 30.7% for the Day One broadcast on Jan. 2 and 32.1% for Day Two on Jan. 3.

source articles:
https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/201909170000084.html
https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/201909170000089.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

World Championships Medalist Racewalking Coach Mizuho Sakai Recognized With Highest Coaching Honor

The 2023 Mizuno Sports Mentor Awards recognizing excellence in coaching were held Apr. 23 in Tokyo. Toyo University assistant coach and race walking coach Mizuho Sakai was given a gold award, the program's highest honor, and expressed her thanks and joy in a speech at the award ceremony. The coach of 2023 Budapest World Championships men's 35 km race walk bronze medalist Masatora Kawano , Sakai said, "This is an incredible honor and I'm truly grateful. As a child I wanted to be in the sporting world and I've spent my life in that world. My end goal was always to play a supporting role for other athletes, so I'm honored to be recognized in this way." Sakai's husband Toshiyuki Sakai , head coach of Toyo's three-time Hakone Ekiden champion team, attended the awards gala with her and was also introduced to the audience. After bowing he took a seat in front of her and watched with warmth as she received recognition for her outstanding work. The Mizun
Post a Comment
Read more

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend Track Roundup

The two-day Hyogo Relay Carnival was the biggest meet of the weekend on the Japanese calendar. Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) kicked off her 2nd academic year with a 31:48.11 win in the GP women's 10000 m, beating Pauline Kamulu (Route Inn Hotels) by 4 seconds. Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko) had a tighter win in the GP men's 10000 m, 27:58.01 to 27:58.35 over Jonson Mugeni (Asia Univ.). Kenyans also dominated the men's B and C-heats, Nelson Mandela (Obirin Univ.) taking the B-heat by 0.06 over Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.) in 28:05.37 and Patrick Wambui (NTT Nishi Nihon) the C-heat in 28:14.83. Top Japanese marks across the four races were 32:24.50 by Sora Shinozakura (Panasonic), 28:11.30 by Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon), 28:41.68 by Masashi Nonaka (Toyota), and 28:42.38 by former Rikkyo University head coach Yuichiro Ueno (Hiramatsu Byoin). The GP women's 3000 mSC might have been the best race of the meet, both Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.) and Mana
Post a Comment
Read more