Comedian Kin-chan runs marathon, gets record ratings

[Tokyograph News]

66-year-old comedian Kinichi Hagimoto was this year's celebrity runner in the marathon of NTV's charity telethon, "24 Hour Television." He completed the 70km course shortly after 9:00pm on Sunday, minutes after the telethon officially ended.

This year's "24 Hour Television," which featured celebrity hosts Tackey & Tsubasa, achieved the second-highest ratings in the program's 30-year history. It averaged 18.6% in the Kanto region, slightly below the 19.0% rating in 2005.

However, the show reached a peak rating of 43.9%, two minutes before the broadcast's end while viewers watched in anticipation of Hagimoto reaching the finish line. The network decided to continue the marathon coverage during the following program, "Gyouretsu no Dekiru Houritsu Soudanjo." When Hagimoto finally completed his run minutes later, viewership peaked at 42.9%.

The 43.9% rating was a record high for "24 Hour Television." Meanwhile, "Gyouretsu no Dekiru Houritsu Soudanjo" ended with a 35.3% average, a record for the show.

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