TBS to drop “Tokyo Friend Park” after 18 years

TBS will be pulling the plug on its long-running variety/game show “Sekiguchi Hiroshi no Tokyo Friend Park II” (Mondays, 7:00pm) at the end of March, it has been learned.

Hosted by talento Hiroshi Sekiguchi (67), the show was born over 18 years ago as “Sekiguchi Hiroshi no Tokyo Friend Park” in 1992, but it gained the “II” in its title in 1994. Known for bringing on celebrity guests and having them compete in a variety of mini games and physical challenges, the show once enjoyed ratings over 20%.

In 2009, TBS decided to launch a news show in that time slot, ousting “Tokyo Friend Park II” and moving it to Thursdays at 8:00pm. Ratings soon flagged, and TBS returned it to its Monday time slot in March 2010. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done, and ratings recently dropped into the single digits. Still, over the show’s almost 17-year history as “Tokyo Friend Park II,” it has averaged an impressive 16.8% rating.

It is not yet known what TBS will replace the show with this spring.

Source:
Sponichi Annex