With international sales expertise honed from over 40 years of licensing programming worldwide and a library spanning a 54-year broadcast history, TBS continues to bring many hits to the overseas market.

Expanding upon its past format licensing successes like “America’s Funniest Home Videos“, TBS along with its exclusive format agent, Bellon Entertainment, succeeded in bringing a new hit format to the US market with “Brainsurge“ (based on “Survivor“ on Nickelodeon) and to the UK market with “Get 100“ (based on “100 Gecchuu“) on BBC.

Anime, too, saw big sales for “K-ON!“ this year in Asia and the US, and new series “Taisho Baseball Girls“, “Kämpfer and Nyankoi!“ promise to likewise do well internationally.

TBS films continue to be popular in Asia while finding an increasingly strong reception overseas.  Recent hits in Japan like “ROOKIES“ and “April Bride“ and “Professor Layton and The Eternal Diva“ have sold well into various territories.

HD documentary programming has also seen increasing international sales of its flagship series “The World Heritage“, now with two seasons dubbed in English.  With a continually expanding library of over 250 documentary series and specials in pristine HD, many timeless in their subject matter, these programs will continue to be a great asset for the future.

Sales to new media platforms like cell phones and the internet have become a staple of animation licensing and have also seen increased business in television programming with “Takeshi’s Castle -based sales“ of “MXC“ on iTunes in the US and a cell phone game in Spain.

Income from our real estate business was ¥17.245 billion, increasing more than 4.5 times over the previous consolidated fiscal year, while profits were ¥7.77 billion, a more than 18-fold increase over the previous fiscal year.

During the last fiscal year, all of our buildings in the akasaka Sacas area, including our office and commercial building Akasaka Biz Tower, were completed and opened for business, so that our real estate business enjoyed a major increase in income from the previous fiscal year.

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“Departures“, the first Japanese film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, is an innovative entertainment project from TBS that leveraged the company’s strengths in television and film production.

After losing his position as a cellist in an orchestra, a young man grows and matures through a job that he takes on reluctantly: that of preparing the bodies of the dead for funerals. Despite its simple premise, TBS’s “Departures“ is replete with laughter and genuine emotion.

This first film script by leading television writer Koyama Kundo was brought to life by a cast of talented actors, including Motoki Masahiro, Hirosue Ryoko, and Yamazaki Tsutomu. Takita Yojiro, veteran director of many TBS productions, took his place in the director’s chair once more, while master composer Hisaishi Jo portrayed the characters’ most subtle emotions with his groundbreaking and unforgettable score.

“Departures“ appealed to audiences outside of Japan, winning not only the Oscar but also awards at international film festivals in places such as Montreal, Palm Springs, Hawaii, Italy and China. In addition, it was screened in 65 countries, breaking box office records set by other Japanese films.

In Japan, “Departures“  not only won the Best Picture Award in the Japanese Academy Prize competition but took top honors in all 14 categories. It was praised for both its entertainment value and its artistry as it swept several Japanese competitions, including the Mainichi Film Competition and the Kinema Jumpo Top Ten. All in all, it was honored with 89 Japanese and international awards.

“Departures“ was not only a critical success but also an unprecedented success in business terms. In the year following its September 2008 opening, it attracted 56 million viewers and brought in box office proceeds of ¥6.3 billion. Among live-action films, these figures are second only to “BOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie“(¥7.8 billion). In other words, the top two films in terms of box office receipts in 2008 were both TBS productions.

Another distinction is that “Departures“ is the only picture in the history of Japanese cinema to enjoy a theatrical run of over a year.  (The 1961 film “West Side Story“ is the only Western film to have had such a long run.)

Furthermore, the March 2009 DVD release of “Departures“ sold astonishingly well. The 350,000 copies sold made it 2009’s most successful feature film DVD in terms of Japan sales.

This crowning cinematic achievement, which gave rise to the phrase the “Departures“ phenomenon was the top Japanese film DVD for 2009, both in popularity and in substance.

Radio is perhaps the medium most closely incorporated into people’s everyday lives, and in using this medium to have listeners imagine “ a tomorrow that’s even just a bit better,” TBS has been trying to motivate each individual to make a conscious choice to do something different from what he or she did yesterday. It is this concept that gave rise to TBS Radio’s environmental campaign in July 2002.

In specific terms, the campaign includes such features as a radio personality discussing an environmental problem, progress reports and support for Team Ukyo, which took part in the Dakar Rally in a vehicle fueled with biodiesel, and a live talk show about environmental problems. It also uses flea market methods to take the proceeds from the sale of old clothes and contribute them to the green belt projects of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai.

Since 2005, TBS has been participating in the annual “Candle Night for a Million” campaign. In July 2008, the radio program “Candle Night Radio: Turn Off the Lights and Enjoy a Leisurely Evening“ won the Grand Prix in the Program Host Division of the Iran International Radio Festival.

This idea was adopted by ABU(Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union) as a “ Lights Off” Campaign. In 2008, 17 organizations from 15 countries joined effort to appeal to the Asian people to think about and act together to address the climate change issue. This TBS initiative has become an international campaign.

TBS’s series of World Heritage documentary programs,aired in 30-minute weekly slots, feature UNESCO World Heritage sites celebrating natural and cultural treasures. Now in its 14th year, the series has already introduced audiences to over 570 World Heritage sites.

World Heritage sites are priceless assets, treasures of the natural world and treasure created by humankind over the course of centuries. TBS artists capture these treasures in high definition, helping to reinforce humanity’s shared legacy. The programs combine the highest levels of visual quality with compelling narration and inspiring music. The production approach is simple: the driving idea behind the documentaries is to showcase all that is irreplaceable on our planet.

In August 2006, on the tenth anniversary of the debut of this highly successful series, TBS received a letter of thanks from UNESCO. With the cooperation of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, we shall continue to create a visual record of World Heritage sites for the enjoyment of future generations, covering the world with our cameras.