Nippon TV to Become the Largest Shareholder of Ghibli

Ghibli is a magical studio that has been telling us iconic stories through its splendid animation. It is an incredibly successful studio with incredible ventures. The recent film called ” The Boy and The Heron” garnered over 8.16 billion yen without any marketing.

This dreamy studio has, however, had issues finding a successor. Most of their old talents have already retired or are at a retirement age. And without a worthy successor, the company would be in trouble and hence it made a shocking decision.

The Nippon TV television broadcasting company has decided to acquire 42.3% of the shares of world-famous animation studio Ghibli. This transaction, once completed, would make NTV the largest shareholder of the Ghibli and turn the studio into a subsidiary of Nippon TV.

Both the companies called for an urgent press conference with Nippon TV representative director and operating officer Yoshikuni Sugiyama and Ghibli president and co-founder Toshio Suzuki mutually announcing the planned acquisition. The financial terms of the deal were not, however not disclosed.

The following statement was revealed about the situation: “With director Hayao Miyazaki now 82 years old and producer Toshio Suzuki also 75, Studio Ghibli has long been struggling with the issue of their successors.”

The studio repeatedly approached Miyazaki’s son, Goro, to become the successor and run the studio. However, Goro has refused all the offers and declined the idea, claiming that it would be difficult for him to take over Ghibli on his own and that it would be better to leave the future of Ghibli to someone else. Hayao Miyazaki also seems to be opposed to his son running the studio.

This decision wasn’t sudden, as NTV has been in talks with Ghibli for a possible acquisition since last year. Nippon TV promised to “permanently protect Studio Ghibli’s ‘craftsmanship’ and brand values” and “intends to honor Studio Ghibli’s autonomy” so it can “focus on filmmaking.

Following the acquisition, Studio Ghibli will be headed by Hiroyuki Fukuda, the senior operating officer and board director at Nippon TV.

Studio Ghibli President Toshio Suzuki will assume the position of chairman, while Hayao Miyazaki, the famed filmmaker and co-creator of the studio, will be its honorary chairman.

Many fans seem disappointed with the idea of Nippon TV acquiring Ghibli. They have compared the situation to Disney acquiring Pixar but also realize that the studio is at a crossover where this step is necessary for their survival.

Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki have had a long relationship with NTV. Miyazaki’s films have since aired regularly on the block, with consistently high ratings. NTV once hosted Ghibli’s official website until Ghibli began using its hostname.

We can only hope for Nippon TV to stand by their word and not take away the freedom of our beloved studio.

Source: Official Website