Japan’s national broadcaster, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), is planning structural reforms to transform into a more efficient and sustainable organisation in the backdrop of a changing media landscape.

The move comes as NHK’s revenue is projected to be in a long-term downward trend due to cuts in TV viewer fees and a decrease in ownership of TV sets.

It will review its current operations, reduce the number of radio and TV channels and cut the number of employees in managerial positions by 30 percent.

It will consider reducing the current three radio stations (R1, R2 and FM) to two (AM and FM) in fiscal 2025. It will also examine ways to devise new programming and to use the internet, while taking into account the ongoing shift from AM to FM by commercial stations, as well as listener’s reported usage.

For fiscal 2021, NHK estimates that income will drop by approximately 30 billion yen compared to the fiscal 2020 budget. It will carry out reforms to cut expenditures by approximately 55 billion yen during the 3-year period from fiscal 2021. It will spend allocate construction fund reserves and surplus carried forward fir financial stabilisation to redevelop the NHK broadcasting centre in Tokyo and outdated local stations.

It will also take into consideration the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, possible revisions to the broadcasting act and the progress of the new method of collecting receiving fees.

According to a report in The Japan Times, NHK will also unify its hiring of new employees, scrapping the current system of separately taking on reporters, directors, technicians and others, the sources said.

The new system is set to start with employees who will join NHK in spring 2022, the sources said, adding that the broadcaster will consider curbing new hiring.

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