Ask John: Why Don’t American TV Networks Adopt Japanese Broadcast Schedules?

Question:
Why do the main networks that broadcast anime on American television not convert to a schedule similar to the Japanese one where niche anime series are shown very late at night (after 1 or 2 AM)? Surely the handful of hardcore fans they retain during those times would be better than running infomercials or re-airing episodes of series already broadcast.

Answer:
Regrettably, I just don’t know enough about the business of American television broadcasting to guess why American networks don’t consider airing anime very late at night. My best guess is that the reason may be rooted in differences between the television broadcasting industry in Japan and America. Here in America television networks typically pay for the right to broadcast programs. In the case of anime, domestic distributors may even agree to allow network television broadcasts without any fees for broadcasting rights. However, in Japan it’s not uncommon for anime distribution companies to pay television networks for air time. After all, television broadcast is a marvelous method for advertising and encouraging DVD and associated merchandise sales. So in some cases, Japanese television networks may air anime late at night because they’re paid to broadcast particular shows late at night.

However, here in America it may be considered an ineffectual business strategy to pay for broadcast rights only to air the program very late at night, in non-prime viewing hours. Or even if the network isn’t paying fees for the right to broadcast certain programs, it may still be more profitable to air paid programming like “infomercials” or repeats of shows that have already proven their ability to draw viewers than experiment with untested new titles. Furthermore, it’s necessary to keep in mind that anime is broadcast late at night in Japan because it still gains a significant audience even during late hours. Here in America, however, most anime broadcast on American television struggles to attract a significant viewership even during ideal timeslots. If the audience for anime on American television during prime broadcast hours is small, the audience during “off hours” may be too small to even justify allotting the broadcast time to anime.