Samurai TV launches (July 1996)

Weekly Pro

2nd July 1996 (Issue No 738)

24 hours a day! 

Immerse yourself in professional wrestling and martial arts!

The world's first professional wrestling and martial arts focused satellite broadcast "FIGHTING TV SAMURAI!" will begin subscription broadcasting this October.

Global Satellite Broadcasting Co., Ltd. has started the world's first 24-hour professional wrestling and martial arts channel, "FIGHTING TV SAMURAI", which will begin a subscription service this October (free broadcasting will be available in September). A press conference was held on June 10th at 1:30 pm at the Hotel Okura in Toranomon, Tokyo, and was attended by a total of four hundred people, including wrestlers, martial arts promotion athletes, related parties and media. 

What is it about "FIGHTING" that has attracted so much attention?

"FIGHTING TV SAMURAI" is attracting attention as the world's first channel specializing in professional wrestling and martial arts. According to producer Seki Takumi of the Global Satellite Broadcasting Department, the concept is to "visualize professional wrestling and martial arts magazines." In other words, the audience types are classified into the following four types; 

1. People ("live type") who go to the venue 

2. People ("visual type") who enjoy TV and videos

3. People ("information type") who want to know match results from newspapers or computers

4. People ("thinking type") who enjoy reading. 

The aim is to satisfy all the needs of these different types of spectators. So, what kind of program content is "FIGHTING" thinking of specifically? There are many different types; 

1. News (the days match results, digest) 

2. Information (ticket prices) 

3. Sales (TV shopping for wrestling merchandise)

4. Live (broadcast of matches)

5. Documentaries & Variety (interviews, training footage)

6. Understanding (Correspondence courses in Martial Arts)

The problem here is that major promotions such as New Japan, All Japan, Rings and All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling, already have contracts with existing TV stations to broadcast matches. Given that, how many promotions can be broadcast? Regarding the current status of negotiations with promotions, "FIGHTING" said, "We are in the request stage. No promotions have been turned down. The promotions that will be available at the time of the broadcast start will be decided at the earliest by the end of July." It is said that some form of cooperation has been secured from over 50 promotions, including professional wrestling and martial arts.

As for the fees, which fans will be curious about, first you need to pay 2,800 yen for multi-channel digital satellite broadcasting, PerfecTV!!, plus a monthly subscription fee of 290 yen. In addition, a monthly subscription fee for "FIGHTING," one of the channels of PerfecTV!!, is set at 1,500 to 2,000 yen. The service will be broadcast free of charge during September, with paid broadcasts starting in October. 

At the press conference held at the Hotel Okura at Toranomon, Tokyo, that day, what was the most surprising was the large number of media in attendance (200 people), which indicated the high level of interest in "FIGHTING". And it wasn't just the media, there was a total of 200 people, including both wrestlers and people related to wrestling and other martial arts promotions, who attended the reception following the press conference. The lineup was impressive. From the world of professional wrestling, Antonio Inoko was at the forefront, and everyone from major to indie wrestlers gathered in one place. Such an opportunity is rare. So what was the reaction of wrestlers to "FIGHTING"? 

"I want New Japan Pro-Wrestling to do it. I want as many people as possible to see how we practice. I think that (fans) don't see us practicing the various fighting techniques. I want to show them how great we are, whether it's pro wrestling or fighting techniques." (Sasaki)

"We'll do our best so that we can be featured more and more" (Kitao)

At the reception, Michinoku and the Battlearts performed one match each as an exhibition, adding a touch of glamour to the launch of "FIGHTING."

Global Satellite Broadcasting Co., Ltd., which will broadcast the channel, is fully funded by Mitsui & Co*. and was established on March 2nd.

(Capital: 480 million yen).      

Note

"Mitsui & Co" are what's known as a "Daiichi" company, which the Americans kept on after WW2.