Fumio Narashima Head of International Program Development Deputy Director Programming Department NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Japan

What are your acquisition strategies? What genres are you looking for?

At NHK, we acquire and broadcast overseas-made programmes including documentaries, news and current affairs, and drama. With regard to overseas documentaries, our primary interest lies in subjects that are linked to global and regional developments and changes. In addition, we are always looking for programmes that reflect innovative production techniques, programmes made in HD, and programmes that reflect a particularly high level of overall accomplishment.

Can you give us several titles of domestic / international programming that you acquired this year?

Documentaries, news and current affairs:
The Three Rooms of Melancholia (Millennium Film, Finland, 2004)
Challenger (Channel 4, UK, 2006)
Beautiful Minds: Voyage into the Brain (Colourfield, Germany, 2006)
Big Family  (Guangxi TV, China, 2005)

Dramas:
Elizabeth I (mini-series, Channel 4, UK, 2005)
Nero: The Obscure Face of Power (mini-series, RAI, Italy, 2004)
ER (Warner Brothers, US)
Desperate Housewives (Touchstone Television, US)
Doctor Who (BBC, UK, 2005)
Spring Waltz (Yoons Color, South Korea, 2006)

How many hours of programming do you acquire this year? Do you have an increase or decrease in your acquisition budget in comparison with the last year?

Fifty hours of documentaries, news, and current affairs. Four drama series: two from the US, one from the UK, and one from South Korea. We have no particular plans to increase our acquisitions next year.

What programs will be in demand at ATF 2006? Please give us your opinion.

We are hoping that a lot of documentaries, feature programmes, drama series, and drama mini-series made in HD will come onto the market. We would like a wider choice of HD programme acquisition possibilities.