Nippon Television Network Corporation (Nippon TV) is proud to announce that its special music program titled THE MUSIC DAY The Power of Music, which aired last year on July 6th (Saturday), has won the Social TV Award 2014 Grand Prize.

The Social TV Award 2014 recognizes TV programs that acknowledge the rapidly growing link between social media and television and thereby create cutting-edge multidimensional uses for this interconnectedness. This is the third year of the award, whose aim is to contribute to the advancement of both industries. It is organized jointly by Nikkei Digital Marketing and Nikkei Entertainment!, both owned by Nikkei Business Publications.

The grand prize winning program THE MUSIC DAY The Power of Music was created with the motto "bring people together through music" and was broadcast live for 12 hours featuring hit songs that have inspired the Japanese. Building upon the success of last year's show, the team came together once again to produce a new installation, which aired on July 12th of this year.

During the live broadcast, ARASHI performed their hit song "A・RA・SHI" and viewers were able to play a rhythmic game that required them to tap or click their smart phone, PC, or remote control to get in sync with the music notes that flowed across the screen. The game enabled the show to achieve live communication with viewers at home. Over 1.37 million viewers ended up participating in the game, out of which 900,000 was through smart phones, 140,000 through PCs, and 330,000 through data broadcasting on TV.

Recognizing that more and more people watch TV while using Facebook and Twitter on their smart phone, we at Nippon TV developed and produced programs that use the latest technology to further strengthen our relationship with viewers, in hopes of discovering new opportunities in television. Indeed, Nippon TV's efforts received high recognition, culminating in the Social TV Award 2014 Grand Prize.

The awards ceremony was held on Wednesday, July 23, 2014. Attending the ceremony were lead producer Kazuo Takaya and digital producers Hiroo Hara and Daisuke Umino, all from Nippon TV.

Nippon TV producers attend the awards ceremony.
From left, Daisuke Umino, digital producer, Kazuo Takaya, lead producer, Hiroo Hara, digital producer

Program Details:

"Real-time OTOGE Live 'ARASHI Feat.You'"