It is essential for NHK to exercise a certain degree of restraint as a public broadcaster, while providing high-quality programs. A thorough streamlining of its business is indispensable.
NHK has submitted its budget for revenue and expenditure and its business plan for fiscal 2019 to Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Masatoshi Ishida.
The revenue from broadcast receiving fees, which accounts for the majority of NHK's revenue, is estimated to total 703.2 billion yen, up 3.6 billion yen from the previous fiscal year, while expenditures are anticipated to increase by 14.9 billion yen to 727.7 billion yen, thus bringing about a budget deficit for the first time in nine years.
With House of Councillors and unified local elections set for this year, news coverage expenses are estimated to rise by 16 percent to a record high of 24.5 billion yen, a factor greatly contributing to the increase in total expenditure. Production costs for high-definition 4K and 8K satellite broadcasting are estimated to swell, too.
NHK insists that it has worked hard to cut back on expenditures by reviewing its operations as a whole. To win over viewers, further reform of its operations will become necessary.
What attracted attention this time was a budget related to operations utilizing internet services.
NHK's main line of business is broadcasting and its online business is nothing but supplementary. For this reason, it is stipulated that spending on the online business "should not exceed 2.5 percent of the revenue from viewing fees." This is aimed at preventing NHK from endlessly expanding its online business.
In its fiscal 2019 budget for online business, NHK has earmarked 16.9 billion yen, accounting for 2.4 percent of the projected revenue from subscription fees. But this will not allay concerns.
NHK aims to realize an "anytime simultaneous release" system in which programs will be released online at the same time as being broadcast on TV. With this in mind, the communications ministry is scheduled to submit to the ordinary session of the Diet a bill to revise the Broadcast Law.
Keep budget ceiling
The NHK budget for fiscal 2019 does not include expenditures for the anytime simultaneous release of programs. NHK explains that it will abide by the 2.5 percent ceiling even if such a system can be realized within fiscal 2019.
But the possibility that the budget for online broadcasting will surpass the 2.5 percent threshold in fiscal 2020 when the anytime simultaneous release system will start in full.
NHK has been sustained by subscription fees paid by viewers. If the ceiling is raised gradually, it may accelerate the swelling of its online broadcasting business. The current ceiling should be maintained.
Simultaneous TV and online broadcasting of programs is permitted in the case of reporting on disasters and other big news. NHK is called on to explain in detail how much of a necessity there is for switching to the anytime simultaneous release system.
Consistency with the current subscription system will also become a subject to be studied. NHK is urged to quickly study such problems as whether to collect viewing fees from households that have no TV sets.
It is also important for NHK to work toward securing transparency of its accounts by separating its account for online business from that for broadcasting operations.
NHK will leave the viewing fee unchanged when the consumption tax rate is raised to 10 percent in October and lower it by 2.5 percent from October 2020.
The national broadcaster is called on to constantly study whether it has more to do to reduce financial burdens on viewers.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 18, 2019)
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