News Pokémon shifting broadcasts from Thursday to Sunday

[Dogasu]

What a better way to end the weekend than to be reminded of the fact that you will be going to school in 12 hours.

That's actually what people already say about Chibi Maruko-chan and Sazae-san now; "Whenever I see them on my TV I feel sad because I know that means I have to start getting ready for work tomorrow."

Also...A two week break? REALLY? I have 3 theories, If no one of them is correct I will be angry as usual.
1) SM091 is a sub-series premiere (which is likely, as it's October)

I really doubt it. If we were getting a new title they would have gone ahead and announced it along with the news of the change in timeslot, wouldn't you think? All the articles I've seen about the change very clearly refer to the show as Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon and they all use the current logo.

If we look back at what's been done before, we got the first XY&Z promo on September 15th 2015, about six weeks before that "new series" premiered. In between that first announcement and the show's October 29th premiere we had six new episodes debut (XY 090 - 095) during which they could promote the new show. This time, however, we have just a little over five weeks and only two episodes airing between now and the timeslot change. They don't have enough time to promote the show the way they like to.

2) There is a new 1-hour OVA (maybe about LGPE) that will premiere later.

Maybe, but they've done original animated specials before without sending the show on a long breaks in the past.

3) There is a production halt because of the recasting of Unshou Ishizuka's roles.

No. Episodes are produced months and months in advance; they've only recorded the episodes up until October 7th, sure, but voice acting is one of the last steps taken to finish up an episode of a Japanese cartoon. The episodes set to air the rest of the year have probably all been written and are currently in various stages of animation. They're probably way too far into production to go back and just like...de-exist the Ookido family from the show. His roles will be recast and the show will move on.

 

[Gabo2oo]

Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon's new timeslot will put the show in direct competition with rival network Fuji TV's long-running Chibi Maruko-chan.

Did Pokémon have direct competition like this on its Thursday timeslot?

 

[Johtohfiller]

Huh, I just saw speculation on Serebii that they're pitting it against a more popular show in order to cancel it...is there any info available on how profitable the anime is? I can't fathom why they'd want to cancel it unless anime-related merch has tanked; I doubt whatever they replace its Thursday slot with will be as big a name as Pokemon.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I don't see why they'd want to move it just to cancel the anime. That's seems extremely weird and a huge conclusion to jump to based on this change. It's admittedly a big change since Pokemon has been on Thursdays for so many years, but I wouldn't immediately see this as the beginning of the end or anything like that for the anime, especially when I don't know how different the Japanese TV market is compared to the U.S.

 

[Rath]

Huh, I just saw speculation on Serebii that they're pitting it against a more popular show in order to cancel it...is there any info available on how profitable the anime is? I can't fathom why they'd want to cancel it unless anime-related merch has tanked; I doubt whatever they replace its Thursday slot with will be as big a name as Pokemon.

No, they don't want to cancel Pokemon. That'd be like Shonen Jump trying to cancel One Piece.

Pokemon is TV Tokyo's biggest cash cow, and honestly, the only one they have left. Getting rid of it would be suicide for them.

 

[Daenerys]

So Pokemon will be competing with Chibi Maruko-chan on Sundays now? I wonder if Maruko will attend the funeral after the massacre.

 

[Dogasu]

Did Pokémon have direct competition like this on its Thursday timeslot?

Not really, no. Its current competition is all variety shows that're unlikely to draw kids' attention away.

(also, it'll be interesting to see how Chibi Maruko-chan does against Pocket Monsters because the former, as far as I'm concerned, is primarily watched by the elderly and parents who just want something on in the background while they make dinner. It's also boring as fuuuuuuuuuuuck. I think most kids, if given the choice, will naturally gravitate toward Pocket Monsters)

 

[SammyW27]

That'd be like Shonen Jump trying to cancel One Piece.

Though that's not entirely a bad idea at this point...

 

[Shadao]

Huh, I just saw speculation on Serebii that they're pitting it against a more popular show in order to cancel it...is there any info available on how profitable the anime is? I can't fathom why they'd want to cancel it unless anime-related merch has tanked; I doubt whatever they replace its Thursday slot with will be as big a name as Pokemon.

Unless Boruto is also tanking in profits for TV Tokyo, I believe it's far more likely that they want to drive the other popular shows out of business. A death slot would be something that is impossible for kids (the primary audience) to watch that easily.

6:30 AM, for example, is a death sentence for any animated show on Cartoon Network.

 

[Johtohfiller]

'Boruto' is Killing The Anime Ratings Game

Pokemon is TVTokyo's second most profitable anime. So yeah, cancellation would be sheer stupidity.

 

[Islander Princess]

This is weird, solely because I'm so used to Thursdays. From the time I was in grade school, I was always super excited to wake up on Thursday morning and read about the newest episode. It'll take a while to get used to this change. I mean, Pokémon gets shuffled around here constantly (be it day, time slot, heck, even the channel it airs on) and those still throw me, so the Japanese airings being so much more consistent is really gonna mess with my head.

I think it's difficult to compare this to the way TV schedule changes are made and timeslots organized in other countries. In America, Friday night/Saturday night is generally considered the death knell for shows (but that's all live action/prime time stuff anyway...you generally won't see new episodes of cartoons airing then.) I don't really see this move as any cause for concern.

 

[RileyXY1]

This is bad for the anime. It will have to compete against the likes of Chibi Maruko-Chan and Sazae-San, both heavily popular and influential shows.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

This is bad for the anime. It will have to compete against the likes of Chibi Maruko-Chan and Sazae-San, both heavily popular and influential shows.

You realise Pokémon is literally the second largest franchise in the world right?

 

[RileyXY1]

You realise Pokémon is literally the second largest franchise in the world right?

It's a niche show whose primary demographic is shrinking due to falling birth rates. And now, it will have to compete for viewers with two of the most popular and most influential anime on the market.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

It's a niche show whose primary demographic is shrinking due to falling birth rates. And now, it will have to compete for viewers with two of the most popular and most influential anime on the market.

Pokemon is also one of the most popular and influential franchise around.
And if shrinking birth rates are an issue for Pokemon, they’re also an issue for the other shows too.

The situation is not so dire.

 

[RileyXY1]

Pokemon is also one of the most popular and influential franchise around.
And if shrinking birth rates are an issue for Pokemon, they’re also an issue for the other shows too.

The situation is not so dire.

It is. Pokemon will have to compete with two of the biggest shows on the market. Also, Sazae-San and Chibi Maruko-Chan don't appeal to just kids, unlike Pokemon.

 

[IncineROAR]

It is. Pokemon will have to compete with two of the biggest shows on the market. Also, Sazae-San and Chibi Maruko-Chan don't appeal to just kids, unlike Pokemon.

You do realize we live in a time when streaming is a thing? A show's success is beginning more and more how it appeals to viewers beyond just television. Like said before, Pokemon is the second largest franchise in the world, I think the anime will survive the move to Sunday.

 

[Rath]

You're always so negative. You do realize we live in a time when streaming is a thing? A show's success is beginning more and more how it appeals to viewers beyond just television. Like said before, Pokemon is the second largest franchise in the world, I think the anime will survive the move to Sunday.

Largest, not second largest.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Largest, not second largest.

Wasn’t Star Wars the largest franchise?

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Wasn’t Star Wars the largest franchise?

List of highest-grossing media franchises - Wikipedia