|
Log in For International Broadcasters, Distributors, Licensees
News 日本語
TBS's "Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan" Recognized for Historical Importance--Program is Included in "The Wit's Top 50 Series" as Part of MIPTV's 50th Anniversary Celebration
2013.03.27
The popular TBS variety program "Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan" has been included in The Wit's Top 50 Series, a list of 50 emblematic television series selected to celebrate the 50th anniversary celebration of MIPTV (April 8-11, Cannes, France), the world's largest TV market. For each year since 1963, the Wit (World Information Tracking) has selected a TV series that has contributed to the history of television and had a global impact. Selected for the year 1986, "Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan" joins such popular dramas, quiz shows, and variety programs as "Star Trek" (1966), "Columbo" (1968), "Sesame Street" (1969), "Friends" (1994), and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" (1998). American programs dominate the timeline, which includes many series from Europe, four from Japan, and none from other Asian countries. In fact, Japan fares third-best on the list, after the US and UK. Of the four Japanese series, three are animated: "Astro Boy" (1963), "Grendizer" (1980), and "Dragon Ball GT" (1996). Thus, "Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan" is the only live-action Japanese series on the list. It was selected because, according to the article, it invented the "everlasting and universal genre" of programs featuring viewer-submitted content.A variety program that aired on TBS affiliates on Saturdays at 20:00 from January 11, 1986, to March 28, 1992, "Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan" featured viewer-submitted home videos as one of its segments. The segment became increasingly popular with the rise of home video recording. The US version of the program, "America's Funniest Home Videos" (AFV), launched in 1989 on the ABC terrestrial network and celebrated its 500th episode in 2012-a milestone that only three other prime time programs have reached in the history of US television. In 2006, AFV became the longest-running program in ABC history, a record it continues to extend. In 2007, AFV producer Vin Di Bona earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, AFV became a permanent part of the entertainment collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Exported to nearly 100 countries so far, this TBS format started the viewer-submitted content boom and remains highly popular worldwide. "The Wit's Top 50 Series" list on the MIPTV website features a video about each show selected. The video for "Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan" may be viewed at the following link under the year 1986: |
