Akasaka Sacas and turning the redevelopment into a property business (2008)

What it means for a broadcaster to become a landlord

This decision does not fit inside the explanation that it was about building revenue independent of broadcasting. At its core is the fact that the prime Akasaka land where the company has kept its head office for seventy years was reorganised not as a single rental building but as the development of a whole district. Akasaka Sacas, opened by President Inoue Hiroshi in 2008, is a point; the district due for completion in 2028 under President Sasaki Takashi is an area. One can see it as a broadcaster widening its role — a company that makes programmes and, at the same time, a landowner that holds and operates a piece of the city.

Whether the reorganisation pays is not yet settled. Real estate has the lowest ROIC in the group, and the redevelopment is financed with external borrowing. Until completion in 2028 there is no telling whether the district will produce rents and footfall to match the investment. The success or failure of this move into property looks likely to turn on which is larger — the speed at which broadcasting shrinks, or the income the Akasaka asset generates.