October 6, MIPCOM held its award ceremony for the MICPOM Buyers’ Award for Japanese drama, in which dramas competed from major broadcasters in Japan on the basis of excellence and international appeal. The winner was TBS’s Sunday drama “THE EMPEROR’S COOK,” which starred Takeru Satoh and aired April through July. TBS has now won this important award twice, the first time being for the drama “JIN” in 2010.

The MIPCOM Buyers Award for Japanese Drama is held by MIPCOM organizers Reed MIDEM in coordination with the International Drama Festival in Tokyo. Since its establishment in 2009, the award has been given a total of seven times. Serving as judges are content buyers from across Europe, the US, the Middle East, and Asia, with their number increasing this year to 20. After watching a screening of the entries, the judges assess each drama according to several criteria, and the drama that gets the highest total score is the winner. At the screening session in Cannes, “THE EMPEROR’S COOK” was highly praised for its international appeal, which was seen as deriving from realistic portrayal of its time period on a grand scale and its human drama based on a true story.

Staring Takeru Satoh, Haru Kuroki, Kenta Kiritani, and other leading actors, “THE EMPEROR’S COOK” was produced as a special project in celebration of TBS’s 60th anniversary and was broadcast from April to July at 9:00 p.m. on Sundays as TBS’s Sunday Drama. It portrayed on a grand scale the true story of Tokuzo Akiyama, an ordinary man who, through a combination of the love and support of others and his own effort rose to become the Emperor’s cook in the early 20th century.

The award ceremony took place on the second day of MIPCOM, October 6, as part of the J-CREATIVE PARTY event, which served to promote METI’S Cool Japan initiative with Japanese content, cuisine, and more. Before the award ceremony, visitors enjoyed a performance by maiko (traditional Japanese dancers), as well as TREASURE BOX JAPAN, a special presentation by seven Japanese broadcasters of their latest formats. During the award ceremony, each broadcaster introduced its entry. Then the winner was announced, and TBS was presented with a commemorative shield. In his acceptance speech on behalf of TBS, the network’s Chief of Global Business Makito Sugiyama said, “TBS produced this drama in celebration of the 60th anniversary. On behalf of everybody back home, I thank you sincerely for this wonderful award. We are hopeful that the grand scale of this true story and its values will resonate with people around the world.”


7th MIPCOM Buyers’ Award for Japanese drama entry titles, except for “Emperor’s Cook,” are as follows:
“64 (Episode 1: The Window)” - NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.)
“DEATH NOTE” - Nippon Television Network Corp.
“DOCTORS 3” – TV Asahi Corp.
“Unhandy Handymen” – TV TOKYO Corporation
“Dating: What’s it like to be in love?” – Fuji Television Network, Inc.
“FUTAGASHIRA (Co-Heads)” – WOWOW, Inc.

■ About Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (TBS)
With over 40 years of experience licensing programming overseas, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (TBS) has distributed programs of all genres – dramas, anime, documentaries, formats, movies – totaling several tens of thousands of hours of programming in over 160 countries worldwide and has firmly established its presence as a major content provider in the global arena. TBS is one of the most innovative broadcasters in creating variety formats, having licensed nearly 200 localized versions with several thousand episodes being produced including global hits like America’s Funniest Home Videos, Takeshi’s Castle/MXC, Sasuke/Ninja Warrior, etc. Looking ahead, TBS aims to further raise its profile overseas by expanding sales around the world of TBS hit shows and take advantage of new opportunities in the digital market place.