TBS ending daytime drama slots

[Tokyograph News]

TBS has announced that at the end of March, the network will be ending its two daytime drama time slots, replacing them with a long news show.

The "Ai no Gekijo" slot (weekdays, 1:00pm) has been around since September 1968, and it has served as the home of long-running series such as "Daisuki! Itsutsugo" and "Onsen e Ikou!" The time slot currently hosts "Love Letter," starring singer Ami Suzuki.

The "Drama 30" slot (weekdays, 1:30pm), now known as "Hirudora," started in 1992. Recent shows include "Kippari!" and the currently airing "Panda ga Machi ni Yatte Kuru."

According to some sources, the hour occupied by these two slots will be combined with the two-hour slot (11:00am-1:00pm) taken up by the news show "Ping Pong!," which will also be ending due to low ratings. In addition, the block will gain another hour with the removal of "Niji-Ciao!" (2:00pm-3:00pm), resulting in a four-hour news show. Details of the new program have not yet been revealed.

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