Nippon Professional Baseball fans tuning into Nippon Cultural Broadcasting face sweeping schedule disruptions and program suspensions as the network prepares to broadcast the 2026 Japan Series starting Saturday, Oct. 25, joqr.co.jp reported. The station confirmed that live postseason coverage will preempt numerous regular evening and late-night broadcasts across the opening week, with decisions on Game 6 and beyond to be announced at a later date.
Broadcast Schedule and Preemptions for Opening Games
The 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball championship series opens with Game 1 on Saturday, Oct. 24, scheduled from 18:00 to 21:00 Japan Standard Time (9:00 to 12:00 UTC). Game 2 follows on Sunday, Oct. 25, airing from 17:55 to 21:00 JST (8:55 to 12:00 UTC). Both broadcasts carry potential for extra innings, which triggers sliding cancellations for late-night programming.
For Game 1 on Saturday, the network has already confirmed the suspension of several regular programs, including Grape no Mou Mayowanai!, Inagaki Goro Henshucho, Komakine Kiita no Koko wa Kiitown 1-chome, and Snow Man Sakuma Daisuke no Matte, Muri, Shindoi…. Early evening programs face shifted time slots, with Tokutoku Tsushan Seikatsu moving to 17:00, Mine Ryuta to Minna no Shinshu shifting to 17:15, and Junji to Naoki starting at 17:30.
Sunday’s Game 2 will displace standard weekend cultural and idol broadcasts, including Nogizaka 46 no “No”, Hinatazaka 46 no “Hi”, Sakurazaka 46 no “Sa”, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Radio Exedra, Reading World, and Higuchi Kaede no Konna Yoi Jikan ni Nani Shinten Nen!.
Midweek Postseason Fixtures Through Game 5
As the series shifts venues for the midweek fixtures, the broadcast adjustments continue with identical 17:50 to 21:00 JST windows for Games 3, 4, and 5.
Game 3 takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 27, followed by Game 4 on Wednesday, Oct. 28, and Game 5 on Thursday, Oct. 29. Throughout this three-game block, Bunka Hoso Sports Stream and Pekopa Seiji Taiyo to Takeda Tsuneyasu no News Seikei Juku are suspended entirely each night. Minna no Ongakushitsu will advance its broadcast window to 17:35 ahead of the baseball coverage.
Individual night cancellations during the midweek games include Suzuki Fuku, Iu Yuhinata, Saito Ryusuke no 04 Hoso-bu on Tuesday, Girls² no Garugaru Talk! on Wednesday, and a block of entertainment programs on Thursday featuring ANI-MHz, U-shan no Yuriiro Palette, Mecha Mecha Charisma na Radio, and Mari Mari Mary Radio Kaname to Rage no Kossori Conte.
Contingency Plans for Extra Innings
Because postseason games frequently run past their scheduled 21:00 completion times, Nippon Cultural Broadcasting established sliding interruption tiers depending on when the baseball broadcast officially concludes.
If Game 1 extends past 22:10 on Saturday, programs such as A&G Tribal Radio Edison will absorb the overage, while subsequent late-night favorites including Kamiya Hiroshi, Ono Daisuke no Dear Girl Stories and Tamura Yukari no Otomegokoro Syndrome face rolling suspensions deep into the early morning hours. Similar conditional delay matrices apply to Sunday and the midweek games, where flagship night programs like Recomen! and DOMOTO no Donna Mon Ya! adjust their start times dynamically based on the final out on the field.
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