Fans of baseball star Ichiro Suzuki had reason to be mad at NHK two weeks ago. The Seattle Mariners outfielder was on the verge of his 2,500th career hit, one of the game's rare milestones, which was predicted to happen some time between June 6 and 9. However, the public broadcaster, whose BS-1 satellite channel airs Major League baseball, had scheduled no Mariners games on those days, opting instead to broadcast the entire New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox series.
When these games were scheduled months ago it probably made sense: Yankee slugger Hideki Matsui is more popular among Japanese viewers. However, Matsui broke his wrist last month.
Coincidentally, on June 6, an advisory panel to Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka recommended NHK lose two of its three satellite channels, a move that would allow NHK to save money and cut subscription fees. The panel basically said these channels were redundant.