As everybody by now knows, Sunday, July 24 marked the end of analog TV broadcasts in Japan. However, the capital's new broadcast tower, Tokyo Sky Tree, won't begin sending out digital signals until May 12 next year, which means the iconic Tokyo Tower still has a reason to exist until then. The big question is: Will it have a reason afterwards?
According to Tokyo Shimbun, the operators of Tokyo Tower lobbied the key broadcast companies to retain some of their business after Tokyo Sky Tree itself becomes operational. However, all six TV networks have decided to move their broadcast functions to TST. In terms of broadcasting, Tokyo Tower will remain a backup facility in the very unlikely event that TST is down. This will be a big blow to Tokyo Tower. Its revenues in 2010 amounted to ¥5.48 billion — ¥2.9 billion for tourism and ¥2.58 for renting out broadcast functions to TV and FM radio stations.
With the broadcast functions gone, Tokyo Tower will have to rely almost completely on tourism for its income; that and cutting expenses. And even there, TST had the advantage of being newer and taller. It opens to the public on May 22, and Tobu, the main investor, projects a whopping 25 million visitors in the first year. Tokyo Tower's peak tourist year was 1989, when 3.8 million people visited. Afterwards, attendance dropped to a bit over 2 million by the turn of the century, and then the management implemented an image makeover that included live performances and special events. Attendance creeped up to about 3 million by 2006.