The Hochi Shimbun

What The Hochi Shimbun does

The Hochi Shimbun (株式会社報知新聞社) is a privately held Japanese sports media company founded in 1872, publishing the daily "Sports Hochi" (スポーツ報知) newspaper and operating related digital and e-commerce properties. Headquartered in Tokyo with additional offices in Osaka, Hokkaido, and Shizuoka, the company employs 501-1,000 staff across news, sales, advertising, and digital media functions. Its primary audience consists of Yomiuri Giants baseball fans and broader Japanese sports enthusiasts served through home-delivery subscriptions, retail newsstand distribution at convenience stores and station kiosks, and the hochi.news digital news platform. The company self-identifies as having published continuously for over 150 years, with former Japanese prime ministers among its historical journalists.

The product portfolio includes the flagship daily Sports Hochi, the Monthly Giants magazine (月刊ジャイアンツ, founded 1976), the monthly Hochi High School Baseball magazine (報知高校野球), and annual publications for high school soccer and the Hakone Ekiden university relay. Shop Hochi (ショップ報知 at shop.hochi.co.jp) operates as the company's e-commerce platform selling Giants merchandise, autographed memorabilia priced up to ¥650,000, and precious-metal commemorative medals priced up to ¥9,900,000. The company administers five self-run award and tournament properties including the Hochi Film Awards (報知映画賞), Pro Sports Awards (プロスポーツ大賞), Golden Spirit Award (ゴールデンスピリット賞), Annual Best Sumo Wrestler Award (年間最優秀力士賞), and the Women's Meijin Shogi Tournament (女流名人戦), and hosts exclusive advance film screening events (特選試写会) in Tokyo and Sendai.

Revenue derives from six streams: recurring newspaper and magazine subscriptions (monthly magazines at ¥700-¥950), one-time publication and photo-book sales (¥1,000-¥4,400), digital and print advertising, e-commerce merchandise, photo and content licensing to corporate clients (法人向け紙面・写真・動画), and event services. Digital infrastructure includes a WEB push notification system for breaking-news delivery, Nielsen digital audience measurement integration on hochi.news, and a paid back-issue database service (typically retaining two months of past editions). The company maintains a partnership with Yomiuri Shimbun Group on industry-wide personal-information management standards, sponsorship arrangements with Dydo Drinco and Shakou Rental Sales Co. for film screening events, and a third-party advertising relationship with Amazon Japan.

Name

The Hochi Shimbun

Legal name

株式会社報知新聞社

Website

https://hochi.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1872

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Hochi Shimbun is a 150-year-old Japanese sports media publisher operating the daily Sports Hochi newspaper, monthly magazines, the Shop Hochi e-commerce platform, and five industry award programs, serving sports fans, baseball enthusiasts, and entertainment audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports & Recreation Magazines (MPAJAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Public Relations, Communications & Reputation Management (MPAKAKAE), Sports Collectibles Marketplace & Auction Platforms (CRAMAOAI)

Keywords

• Sports newspaper publishing
• Magazine publishing
• Digital news media
• E-commerce retail
• Event management

Headquarters

HQ city

Sumida

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Newspaper Subscriptions: Daily newspaper (スポーツ報知) home delivery subscription service. Distributed to households every morning through delivery network.
2. Publication Sales: Sales of monthly magazines (月刊ジャイアンツ, 報知高校野球), special issues, photo books, and commemorative publications through e-commerce and retail channels.
3. Advertising Revenue: Digital and print advertising across news website and newspaper, including advertising specials and planning features with sponsors.
4. E-commerce Merchandise Sales: Online shop selling Giants merchandise, commemorative medals/coins, autographed items, calendars, and other sports-related products.
5. Photo Licensing and Content Licensing: Licensing of newspaper photos (including Giants players), web content, video materials for corporate and individual use.
6. Event Services: Film screenings (特選試写会), award ceremonies, and event sponsorship revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Hochi Shimbun publishes the daily Sports Hochi newspaper and a portfolio of specialized monthly and annual sports magazines, distributes them via home delivery, retail and its own Shop Hochi e-commerce platform, and complements the publishing business with corporate photo and content licensing, a back-issue database, award programs (Hochi Film Awards, Pro Sports Awards, Golden Spirit Award, Annual Best Sumo Wrestler Award, Female Meijin Tournament) and advance film screening events.

Product overview

The Hochi Shimbun (株式会社報知新聞社) operates primarily as a sports-focused newspaper publisher centered around its flagship daily publication スポーツ報知 (Sports Hochi), covering professional baseball (especially Yomiuri Giants), soccer, general sports, entertainment, horse racing, and leisure content. The company maintains a portfolio of specialized monthly magazines including 月刊ジャイアンツ (Monthly Giants), a dedicated Yomiuri Giants fan magazine, and 報知高校野球 (Hochi High School Baseball), a monthly covering Japanese high school baseball. Additional publications include 報知高校サッカー (annual high school soccer championship guide) and 箱根駅伝完全ガイド (annual Hakone Ekiden guide). The company operates ショップ報知 (Shop Hochi), an e-commerce platform for selling publications, merchandise, autographed goods, and commemorative items. Beyond publishing, the organization runs multiple award programs including the 報知映画賞 (Hochi Film Awards), プロスポーツ大賞 (Pro Sports Awards), ゴールデンスピリット賞, and sumo/shogi tournaments. Digital services include the online news site https://hochi.news/, database archives, photo sales, and WEB push notification services for breaking news. The company also organizes 特選試写会 (advance film screenings) as part of its film award activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 月刊ジャイアンツ: Monthly magazine dedicated to the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, published since 1976 (celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026).
• 報知高校野球
• 報知映画賞
• ゴールデンスピリット賞
• プロスポーツ大賞
• 年間最優秀力士賞
• 女流名人戦
• 報知エキスプレス

Products and services

• Sports Hochi (スポーツ報知) Daily sports newspaper and online news platform covering professional baseball (especially Yomiuri Giants), soccer, general sports, entertainment, horse racing and leisure content for individual Japanese sports fans.
• Monthly Giants (月刊ジャイアンツ) Monthly magazine dedicated to Yomiuri Giants baseball coverage, featuring player interviews, game highlights, team news and exclusive photography, with monthly appendices such as clear files and digital panel stands.
• Hochi High School Baseball (報知高校野球)

Quantifiable outcome

• The company has operated for over 150 years since 1872.
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ダイドードリンコ株式会社 (Dydo Drinco Corporation)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor/co-sponsor for 報知映画賞・特選試写会 film screening events. Provides support for movie premiere screening events organized by Hochi Shimbun.
• 写光レンタル販売株式会社minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor/co-sponsor for 報知映画賞・特選試写会 film screening events. Supports film premiere screening events.
• Amazon Japan (アマゾンジャパン合同会社)minorOthersThird-party advertising partner. Amazon has permission to set cookies on Hochi Shimbun's website for advertising purposes. Third-party advertising relationship.
• 読売新聞グループ (Yomiuri Shimbun Group)coreOthersJoint use arrangements for shared personal information management standards. Associated through industry group cooperation for data protection compliance. Note: Hochi Shimbun operates independently but participates in Yomiuri Group joint privacy framework.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nikkan Sports: Japanese sports daily newspaper offering sports news, professional baseball coverage, and high school baseball tournament reporting. Direct competitor in the same sports newspaper category with overlapping coverage of high school baseball (甲子園).
• Sankei Sports: Sports newspaper published by Sankei Shimbun group, competing with Hochi Shimbun in daily sports coverage, professional baseball, sumo, and horse racing. Operates similar print + digital subscription business model.
• Tokyo Sports Shimbun: Japanese sports newspaper focused on professional wrestling, boxing, professional baseball, and sumo. Competes with Hochi Shimbun in the sports daily newspaper category with a similar entertainment-sports editorial mix.
• Sports Nippon Shimbun: Japan's largest sports daily newspaper, directly competing with Sports Hochi in sports news coverage, professional baseball reporting, and horse racing content. Operates with the same daily print + digital model and similar subscription pricing structure.
• Baseball Magazine Sha: Japanese publisher specializing in baseball-related magazines and books, directly comparable to Hochi's Monthly Giants magazine and Hochi High School Baseball magazine. Operates in the same baseball publishing niche.
• Daily Sports: Kobe-headquartered Japanese sports newspaper publishing company competing directly with Sports Hochi in daily sports coverage, Hanshin Tigers and other professional baseball teams, and high school baseball tournament reporting.

Broad incumbents

• Shogakukan: Major Japanese book and magazine publisher producing periodicals and books across multiple genres. Comparable to Hochi Shimbun as an established Japanese publishing company, though with broader content verticals and larger scale.
• Yomiuri Shimbun: Japan's largest circulation general newspaper and the parent organization historically associated with Hochi Shimbun through shared privacy frameworks. While not a direct competitor, it shares the Japanese newspaper publishing industry and overlapping coverage of Yomiuri Giants baseball.
• Kadokawa Corporation: Major Japanese publishing and media conglomerate spanning books, magazines, and digital content. Comparable as a multi-format Japanese publisher, though operating at significantly larger scale and with broader content verticals than Hochi Shimbun.

Emerging players

• Yahoo Japan (LY Corporation): Operates Yahoo Japan News and Yahoo Japan Sports, which aggregate sports news and compete for digital sports advertising revenue. Represents the digital-native competitive threat to traditional sports newspaper publishers like Hochi Shimbun.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hochi_horse_en
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sports-hochi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hochi Shimbun