Nippon TV mulls broadcasting TV on Web

TOKYO: Nippon Television Network Corp. (NTV), one of Japan's largest TV broadcasters, said on Tuesday it may launch a fee-based service to distribute television programmes over the Internet.

The Nihon Keizai newspaper reported earlier on Tuesday that NTV planned to start the service in October, offering more than 10,000 programmes including dramas and variety shows on the members-only site and charging 100 yen (90 cents) per show.

NTV aims to attract 10,000 members within a year and achieve annual sales of 10 billion yen within three years, the business daily said.

The company said it was "seriously considering" a Web-based service but that nothing concrete had been decided.

Shares of NTV were up 3.18 percent at 15,890 yen on the news, outperforming the Nikkei average's 0.24 percent gain.

"The numbers given in the report, including broadcasting time and fees, are from one of the simulations we are now examining," NTV said in a statement. "We are looking at several possibilities for the revenue model, content and other factors."

Despite growth in Japan's advertising market, the world's second biggest, the top three TV companies posted weaker profits in the last business year and projected further falls due to the cost of developing content and lower broadcasting revenues.

Some big broadcasters have reduced their reliance on TV commercials in recent years as the emergence of digital video recorders, which make it easier for viewers to skip commercials, have clouded the effectiveness of traditional TV advertising.