Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan
I only had basic television when I was in Japan, but they have access to cable/satellite/internet channels like everyone else, so there are literally hundreds of channels they could watch. Some of those could conceivably be anime 24/7 channels, just like Cartoon Network in America.
On the basic channels I had, maybe 2/13 regularly aired anime. Usually in the morning and on weekends. Most of the basic channels aired news, talkshows, dramas, etc.
Contrary to popular belief, Japanese do watch more than anime.
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Cable/satellite may be around, but the average person doesn`t usually watch it.
I think the biggest misconception when it comes to anime, etc, is that it`s broadcast similarly to how it`s broadcast in the US - for example, every morning. In Japan, it`s once a week, with occasional gaps. If you`re watching a show as it`s being broadcast, then you can conceivably follow quite a few different series over the week. Let`s say, 1 or 2 each day in the morning (30 to 60 minutes) and maybe 1 in the evening. These are all different series.
Also, normally people have specific tastes and preferences - they don`t watch anime/tokusatsu/drama just for the sake of watching it. There is no OMG! Japanese entertainment!!! aspect to it. It`s just tv. If it`s not something they`re interested in, they just don`t watch it.
There are 24/7 anime channels - 2 which run only reruns (Animax and Kid`s Station) and one that runs specials, movies, and new series only (AT-X). However, I`d estimate only a few percent of Japanese actually watch these channels as they`re not free (available via cable or satellite) and most people in Japan do
not feel it necessary to have cable. Regular broadcast is the norm. As Japan is in the process of switching over to digital broadcast, more people are subscribing to cable to get around having to replace their tv or buy a tuner, they STILL only usually subscribe to the regular broadcast channels.