Robert Whiting Interview on Radio
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Robert Whiting Interview on Radio
Robert Whiting was on WNYC here in New York City on the Leonard Lopate Show talking about Japanese baseball and his new book. [Link - WNYC.com]
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More Thoughts on the Exudus
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Apr 6, 2004 9:37 PM
| YBS Fan
]
I just finished listening to it. He reitterates a lot of what he said in the book. There at the end, the two start talking about the exudus and TV ratings, which reminds me: Whiting did fall into the same trap that may do when talking about TV ratings in Japan.
I've addressed this before, but there are other factors that people talking about dropping TV ratings are not taking under consideration. Whiting only considers the Nelson ratings of Giants' games. While the barometer for baseball's popularity in the past, with other games being broadcast in their entirety on satalite and/or cable TV, it can no longer be considered the single measure for popularity of Pro Yakyu. Before I had cable, I religiously watched which ever broadcast channel carried the Giants from 7:00 - 9:24 pm six nights a week. Now I hate it when the BayStars host the Giants, as those are the only games I don't get to watch the beginning and ending of. Broadcast TV's lack of committment to showing the entire game has lost me as a viewer. (Long live Sky A and Sky Sports!) MLB has nothing to do with it.
Furthermore, is Pro Yakyu losing viewers to MLB? Or is it losing viewers to social change? Young people are walking around with their phones open like a Captain Kirk communicators, mesmerized by video games or chat sessions with someone they've never seen. Young people aren't listening to Nippon Housou Showup Nighter. And they aren't listening to Ichiro, Matsui, etc., either.
Who are the people turning to MLB? From the people I've talked to, it's their wives. Yes, I know of three men who swear that their wives had zero interest in baseball until MLB started being shown. While the husbands only really know about the Japanese on the MLB teams, it's actually the wives who can tell you the starting lineups for not only the teams that have Japanese starters, but the opposing teams as well.
MLB won some new fans, but I don't think that they're who everybody thinks. And it is not at the loss of fans to NPB.
I've addressed this before, but there are other factors that people talking about dropping TV ratings are not taking under consideration. Whiting only considers the Nelson ratings of Giants' games. While the barometer for baseball's popularity in the past, with other games being broadcast in their entirety on satalite and/or cable TV, it can no longer be considered the single measure for popularity of Pro Yakyu. Before I had cable, I religiously watched which ever broadcast channel carried the Giants from 7:00 - 9:24 pm six nights a week. Now I hate it when the BayStars host the Giants, as those are the only games I don't get to watch the beginning and ending of. Broadcast TV's lack of committment to showing the entire game has lost me as a viewer. (Long live Sky A and Sky Sports!) MLB has nothing to do with it.
Furthermore, is Pro Yakyu losing viewers to MLB? Or is it losing viewers to social change? Young people are walking around with their phones open like a Captain Kirk communicators, mesmerized by video games or chat sessions with someone they've never seen. Young people aren't listening to Nippon Housou Showup Nighter. And they aren't listening to Ichiro, Matsui, etc., either.
Who are the people turning to MLB? From the people I've talked to, it's their wives. Yes, I know of three men who swear that their wives had zero interest in baseball until MLB started being shown. While the husbands only really know about the Japanese on the MLB teams, it's actually the wives who can tell you the starting lineups for not only the teams that have Japanese starters, but the opposing teams as well.
MLB won some new fans, but I don't think that they're who everybody thinks. And it is not at the loss of fans to NPB.
Re: More Thoughts on the Exudus
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Apr 7, 2004 5:02 PM
| HT Fan
]
Well said Westbaystars!
I have had much the same experience ever since I got cable put in, although in my case, I watch the Tigers play. Before, when the Tigers were on the road, I may have tuned in to YTV to root for the non-Kyojin team. Now, it's possible to watch Hanshin play at Nagoya Dome, at Yokohama Stadium, and so on, so why watch a boring Kyojin game? Especially when it often ends halfway through the 9th!
The other thing - are the ratings really a fair indication of viewership? Wasn't there some fiddling of the figures a while back?
I have had much the same experience ever since I got cable put in, although in my case, I watch the Tigers play. Before, when the Tigers were on the road, I may have tuned in to YTV to root for the non-Kyojin team. Now, it's possible to watch Hanshin play at Nagoya Dome, at Yokohama Stadium, and so on, so why watch a boring Kyojin game? Especially when it often ends halfway through the 9th!
The other thing - are the ratings really a fair indication of viewership? Wasn't there some fiddling of the figures a while back?
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