Entertainment Jan. 07, 2009 - 04:54AM JST ( 2 )

TOKYO —

Shuchishin with Pabo, a tie-up of two “obaka trio” groups born from Fuji TV’s popular variety show “Quiz! Hexagon 2,” helped NHK achieve ratings of 47.8% in the Kanto area and 47.0% in the Kansai area when they performed at NHK’s 59th Red and White Singing Contest on New Year’s Eve.

NHK captured the attention of 47.8% of viewers at 10.29 p.m. when Shuchishin with Pabo were singing their hit “Hi wa mata noboru” and were joined on stage by Fuji TV announcer Hitomi Nakamura, 29, who was wearing a shirt with the Fuji TV logo. Yoshio Kojima, Youku Hata and other “Quiz! Hexagon 2” regulars were also on stage and hoisted Fuji TV flags in the air. At the same time, the participants on Fuji TV’s quiz show stopped and watched NHK on TVs in the studio, in a media collaboration the likes of which had not been seen before.

NHK’s annual contest reached a high of 50.0% of national viewers at 11.40 p.m. when the show was covering the night’s highlights. Average ratings over the whole show were more than 40%, the first time in three years the show has been able to break that mark.

News reports