Treasure Box Japan was initiated at MIPCOM 2012 when seven Japanese broadcasters, namely Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV), TV Asahi Corporation (TV Asahi), Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc (TBS), TV Tokyo Corporation (TV Tokyo), Fuji Television Network Inc. (Fuji TV) and Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), joined forces to promote Japanese content collectively, notably formats.

AT MIPTV 2013, the second installment of “Treasure Box” featured an eighth broadcaster – Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (YTV).

Toshikazu Sugae, Vice President at Yomiuri-TV Enterprise (YTE) representing YTV, tells TV ASIA Plus that the broadcaster had previously exhibited at MIP, with limited results. Sugae shares that unlike China and Korea who have well-established country pavilions, Japanese broadcasters had never come together till MIPCOM 2012. Up till then, governmental support was limited, but with “Treasure Box”, the Japanese government now sponsor up to 50% of marketing expenses required to promote this initiative.

At MIPFormats’ Treasure Box Japan screening on Sunday April 7, each broadcaster took 5 minutes to present one hit format out of their catalogue in front of a packed capacity crowd at Audi A at the Palais.

Not every participating broadcaster had a booth at MIPTV, so a post-screening networking lunch (buyers access only) provided many interested parties opportunities to speak to sales reps up close.

When asked about the possible competition now that fellow broadcasters are showcasing their formats alongside one another, Suage insists there is simply no such thing.

“We have different types of formats. It is important to exchange information, otherwise we cannot compete with other countries,” says Sugae. “We’ve in fact had quite a few internal meetings prior to MIPTV to discuss how we can work together to bring “Treasure Box Japan” to MIPTV, so no, there is really no competition.”