‘Ninja Warrior’ Maker TBS Tells Tokyo Market How Legendary, CJ ENM Alliances Fit Its Push to Make J-Content the Next K-Drama

A Thursday morning session at TIFFCOM, the content market of the Tokyo International Film Festival, highlighted the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) Group’s initiatives to find global footholds for Japanese content and “inspiring global love for Japan.”

Watanabe Shinya, president of the global business division at TBS Holdings, and Setoguchi Katsuaki, executive officer of the global business division at TBS Holdings and president and CEO of The Seven and The Seven U.S., spoke about how the group is working to accelerate its global business.

The session began by highlighting TBS Group’s global partnerships, particularly with Legendary Entertainment, and with South Korea’s CJ ENM and Japanese streamer U-Next on new joint venture Studio Monowa. Setoguchi spoke about his ongoing interest in Korean programming and content, recalling that 20 years ago he saw a gap between the production capabilities of Korean and Japanese studios, and that, “to my embarrassment,” he had not anticipated the now vast influence of Korean cultural output. “Everywhere you go around the world, K-content and K-drama, they are a part of everybody’s everyday lives,” he said.

Setoguchi said he sees his mission as spreading Japanese content worldwide to a similar extent, and that “instead of working to generate a profit to TBS, I would be working to establish a new genre of J-content.” After calling on the Japanese industry to work together to find global reach for Japanese IP, he spoke about how TBS is connecting with the North American market, noting its $150 million equity investment in Legendary Entertainment earlier this year.

TBS Group partnered with Legendary because of what Setoguchi described as “matching needs” – TBS wants to create global hits in global markets, while Legendary is “keeping a close eye on the potential of Japanese IP,” including manga, anime and novels, with a view to adapting them into live action. In the partnership, TBS is to “play the role of cultural translator” for Legendary.

Looking to cultivate markets beyond the West, the discussion then moved to TBS’s partners in Asia. Studio Monowa, its joint venture with CJ ENM and U-Next Holdings, sees TBS Group “combined with CJ ENM’s global standard production capabilities” to develop IP that resonates with the world.

Variety content and game shows are also a key focus of the group’s efforts to build a foothold for Japanese content in other countries, with Banijay Entertainment partnering on local adaptations of “Sasuke: Ninja Warrior.”

“Ninja Warrior” is providing something of a template for new IP such as “Kasso,” a skateboarding-focused spin on the same sports entertainment game show formula.

“‘Kasso’ was not created in the mere framework of a TV program. From the beginning, it has been planned as a street culture IP,” Setoguchi said, pointing to rollouts in the U.S. and China.

Setoguchi also described his ambitions for The Seven, aiming for it to be a studio that “creates the next obsession that the world will go wild for,” with its production collaboration on “Alice in Borderland” as a starting point. “The challenge we are taking on goes on into 2030, and beyond into 2040,” he said. Beyond the American, European and Asian markets, he added, the company has ambitions toward uncultivated markets in Africa.

Watanabe then took over, laying out the worldwide reach of “Sasuke: Ninja Warrior,” now in its third decade on air, with local adaptations in 25 countries. They include NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior,” which is in its 18th season, with Seasons 19 and 20 already greenlit.

“It’s the very first TBS sports entertainment which has aired globally,” Watanabe said. “It continues to grow globally.” The show now reaches 170 countries.

Clips from global partners drove the point home. James Townley, chief content officer, development, at Banijay Entertainment, spoke about the brand value of “Ninja Warrior” and its “clear format USP.” Ella Brahmachari, ITV Studios’ brand manager for “Ninja Warrior UK” said the show is aspirational, and that because the athletes are amateurs rather than professionals, audiences feel involved. Thomas Goseberg of RTL Studios, which produces the German adaptation, said a second golden age of the show is coming, and that its appeal lies in the sense of challenge and accomplishment.

Watanabe flagged upcoming anniversaries for the show, including its 30th in 2027. He also pointed to the show inspiring a new obstacle discipline in modern pentathlon at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

He then talked about pursuing a “360-degree experience” for the brand through indoor parks in the U.K., Germany and the U.S., merchandise and licensing, and placement advertising within the show and its local adaptations.

Exporting these properties as IP with room to expand was the priority, Watanabe said. Toward the end of his presentation, he pointed to TBS’s overseas bases, The Seven in Los Angeles and TBS International in New York, and to plans for bases in Europe to strengthen sales.

Anime came up as an example of the global reach of Japanese culture, which TBS hopes to recreate with other formats. “Anime and manga are globally very popular,” Setoguchi said earlier in the session, though he does not think that “J-content is also accepted on the same level.”

To get there, the TBS executives said, they need to “create a market from scratch, and then grow the market” for a “new category of J-content.”