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The story
On September 24, WOWOW announced the cancellation of its planned broadcast and streaming of “Janet Jackson Japan Tour 2026.” The only explanation given was “circumstances on the part of the domestic licensee holding the rights to the overseas artist,” with no further details disclosed. Both the September 26 and October 16 broadcast/streaming dates have now been called off. Reactions on 5ch split mainly into two theories — that ticket sales for the concert itself were poor, or that WOWOW’s negotiations over broadcasting rights fees fell through — with speculation flying in both directions without any conclusive evidence.
Thu, 9/24, 8:10 PM
On the 24th, WOWOW announced via its official website that it is canceling the broadcast and streaming of “Janet Jackson Japan Tour 2026 / JANET JACKSON JAPAN 2026.”
The statement read: “The broadcast and streaming of ‘Janet Jackson Japan Tour 2026 / JANET JACKSON JAPAN 2026,’ originally scheduled for Saturday, September 26, 2026 and Friday, October 16, 2026, have been canceled due to circumstances on the part of the domestic licensee holding the rights to the overseas artist.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
1. Empty seats
2. It was a total dud
3. The crowd was all bald guys
My guess is one of these three.
Isn't that different from the actual live show?
4. Michael showed up
They decided at the last minute to bring a bunch of celebrities on stage, so my guess is turnout was bad
The streaming of David Byrne's Summer Sonic set got abruptly canceled too. Those overseas promoters handling veteran acts have gotten really money-grubbing lately.
But if they jack up the streaming rights fee and the other side just says "nah, we're good" and walks, ending up with zero income, what was even the point?
I figured they probably got forced to buy it as a bundle just to get the rights to the men's CL.
U-NEXT got stuck buying the Women's Premier League as a bundle too.
I caught her joint show with TLC before but couldn't make this one, so I was really looking forward to it.
I think so too, but apparently if negotiations drag on to the wire without a deal, they just cancel outright — that's how top-down the pressure is.
New Hollywood movies are supposedly insanely expensive too, so WOWOW's lineup ends up being mostly Asian films, obscure Western movies nobody's heard of, and old films everyone's already seen.
Well, Hollywood stuff and Disney Channel content are already locked up by streaming platforms over there anyway.
Even Excite Match can barely air the big fights anymore since DAZN and the other streaming services locked up the exclusive rights.
They just can't compete with the overseas players on money.
They'd been trying to push the limits of what pay-TV could do in Japan, though.
seats were filled, probably thanks to tickets being handed out everywhere and the opening act.
Does stuff like this really happen this close to the date?
Can't afford anything from overseas.
Not sure a discount ticket reseller has that kind of clout, but since Re: #1 mentions "circumstances on the domestic rights holder's side," maybe Ticket Port couldn't cover the broadcasting rights fees and everything else. Having a ton of guests probably didn't help either.
What even is a "fourth round"?
Probably because she appeared on SMAP×SMAP.
They'd been advertising the WOWOW broadcast the whole time.
People who didn't go can say whatever they want,
but it was a huge success.
Did you spot Namie Amuro in the crowd?
Background and Key Points
WOWOW has offered no explanation beyond “circumstances on the part of the domestic licensee,” and no specific reason has been made public. This kind of phrasing is a common stock explanation in the broadcasting industry, and in practice it often points to a breakdown in royalty negotiations with the artist’s side, or a change in contract terms with the rights holder. Commenters on the thread split into two camps: those suspecting poor ticket sales, and those suspecting trouble with WOWOW’s own finances. In recent years, WOWOW is said to have been increasingly squeezed out of exclusive streaming rights for popular content by subscription services like DAZN and U-NEXT, compounded by rising costs for acquiring overseas content due to the weak yen. Which factor actually drove this cancellation can’t be determined from the official announcement, and it’s worth stressing that everything here remains speculation.
*This article was compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “WOWOW Announces and Apologizes for Cancellation of ‘Janet Jackson Japan Tour 2026’ Broadcast/Streaming, Explains Reason.”
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