mixi and YouTube are contributing to a collapse in TV viewing in Japan

Evidently, mass-market demand for the services of TV starlets is on the wane. Reacting rationally to this "Actresses rush to the altar as ratings falter" to operate in niche markets where demand remains unflagging.

According to recent survey data, one problem is that the average twentysomething now watches television a paltry three hours a week.

"Four or five years ago, they watched an average of three hours of TV a day, so about 30 minutes a day represents a violent drop," comments entertainment critic Makoto Kanazawa.

Where's the disconnect with this audience? "Instead of watching TV, they come home and spend hours on the Net reading blogs and getting onto Mixi (Japan's version of MySpace) and YouTube," Kanazawa reports. "They can usually find the segments they want to see on YouTube, too, or store the programs on their hard drives. Even when they do watch TV, they're often yakking on their cellphones at the same time."

Mixi will be adding video uploading similar to that of YouTube and MySpace next year. Many people I know have a landline only for its ADSL, neither making nor receiving calls on the number (as the cable from the RJ11 jack in the wall goes direct to an adsl/wifi router with no handset in sight). Maybe we will soon see people without TV receivers, the flat panel display will be there but it will only be receiving input from the computer (internet, DVD) and game boxes.