[sumo] oshi-dashi'd message

["Christopher J. Basten" <cbasten@statgen.ncsu.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 23:12:51 +0900
To: "Sumo List" <sumo@statgen.ncsu.edu>
From: Doreen Simmons <jz8d-smmn@asahi-net.or.jp>
Subject: Re: [sumo] Not Quite Sumo/NHK Eng broadcast
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Ignoring the noise from outside, let's take a look at what we are talking
about in terms of subscribers.  The NHK satellite broadcast which goes
overseas (and which went out yesterday for Lynn and Hiroshi's senshuraku
broadcast) is, in principle, sold wholesale to overseas rebroadcasting
companies that then put out their own contracts. People in their areas have
to subscribe to these individual companies, mostly for a set "Japan news"
service ( correct me if I am wrong).

In the case of inside Japan receivers, I believe that hundreds of thousands
have been forcibly bought into the NHK satellite reception contract and
expect to receive the English-language sumo telecast. So, although NHK had
warned its viewers at the end of October (but only in Japanese) that this
might happen (it was in my monthly Telepal, for instance, but I didn't
really notice it until too late), it came as  total shock to most of its
English-language viewers. As  person who was,for no particular reason,
given slots that went out worldwide, I can only urge those of you who are
NHK subscribers and didn't get the broadcast,  to WRITE IN and complain!

For those of you not au fait with Japan news, the heads have hardly stopped
rolling from a recent scandal involving a different (commercial) network,
where a producer diverted money to bribe some of the very select viewers
who were being used to"portray" viewing trends. It has only just now come
out into the open that the viewer ratings were being carried out by only
one company, which used a shamefully small sample, to produce its
"findings" upon which advertising revenues were based.

Is this the final wake-up call which alerts Japanese advertisers that they
are shooting arrows into the air and the real targets are elsewhere?  For
example, for 25 years I have been buying the same Japanese sports paper,
because it presents the sumo results in an easy-to-use format.  In recent
years the amount of sumo coverage has been grossly cut down. I still buy
the paper, but I tear out the page with the sumo and throw out the rest
unread. But because I buy the paper, even though I put 24/25 of it straight
into the recycling bin, I am apparently subscribing to the view that the
paper is giving its readers what they want!

Doreen @ statistics are not always what they seem



~Doreen Simmons
      <jz8d-smmn@asahi-net.or.jp>~

[EndPost by "Christopher J. Basten" <cbasten@statgen.ncsu.edu>]