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Japanese imports are catching on at broadcast and cable nets
The television business has long looked to Japan for its hardware needs. Now it's looking to the East for software as well, as a flow of Japanese imports is making its way onto broadcast and cable networks' programming menus. This month, ABC premiered The Big Moment, reality-show wizard Vin Di Bona's latest home-video fest, which is based on a popular Japanese game show. The WB has hit big this season with its Japanese-import kids cartoon, Pokemon. This fall, cable's Food Network will launch The Iron Chef, a Japanese cooking show that will have both subtitled and English-- dubbed versions.
Is American TV suddenly turning Japanese? "It's cyclical," says Maureen Smith, general manager of Fox Kids Network, which continues to score in the ratings with its fiveyear-old, Japanese-based Power Rangers franchise. "When I was growing up, I watched [Japanese imports] Kimba, The White Lion, Speed Racer, and...