On October 2, Yoshimoto Kogyo announced the launch of a new Downtown distribution service, “DOWNTOWN+” (Downtown Plus), starting November 1. The former big-name comedians who have surfaced as guests are here. Downtown’s Hitoshi Matsumoto (62), who was reported by the Weekly Bunshun to have had problems with women, chose neither TV nor YouTube as the stage for his return after a year and 10 months of inactivity, but rather Yoshimoto’s own subscription-type Yoshimoto’s own subscription-type platform. With a monthly fee of 1,100 yen and an annual fee of 11,000 yen, the service will offer new content produced by Matsumoto, O-Ki projects, talk shows, and even archives of Downtown’s past programs and movies. This is the moment fans have been waiting for, and social networking sites have been filled with such joyful comments as “I can finally replenish my laughter” and “I want to subscribe right away! and “I want to subscribe right away! On the other hand, there are still some people who are skeptical about the resumption of activities without an apology or press conference, saying that it is impossible. At any rate, what is attracting attention is the “odds” of “DOWNTOWN+. Masashi of the comedy duo Tommies, while looking forward to the challenge of his colleague Downtown, said in the October 4 broadcast of “Seyanen! (MBS) on October 4, 2012, he said, “It’s a terrible thing,” and based on an expert’s estimate in the program, “We expect at least 10,000 members and more than 100 million yen a year. Based on an expert’s estimate, the program predicted that “at least 10,000 members are expected, with a minimum of 100 million yen per year and possibly as much as 1 billion yen per year. Popular influencer Hikaru also expressed a similar view. Hikaru said in a YouTube video, “At least 100,000 (members), possibly as high as 1 million. He was giving the same drumbeat in his YouTube video, saying, “There are laughs that only Downtown can make. While Yoshimoto Kogyo will take the majority of the profits, Matsumoto analyzed that it was the ‘right choice’ to make the pay channel the main battleground instead of TV. The majority of the public seems to agree that “it is sure to be a success,” but businessman Hiroyuki sees it the exact opposite way. In August of this year, in a YouTube video he appeared with businessman and influencer Ranmaru Kishitani, he expressed his opinion as follows.
