What Hochi Shimbun does

Hochi Shimbun (報知新聞社, The Hochi Shimbun) is a privately held Japanese newspaper publisher that operates the Sports Hochi (スポーツ報知) brand, originally founded in 1872 as Yubin Hochi Shimbun and transitioned to dedicated sports journalism on December 30, 1949. Headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo with a secondary bureau in Osaka, the company today functions as a multi-platform Japanese sports and entertainment media house rather than a purely print newspaper, though print distribution via convenience stores (コンビニプリント) remains an active channel. Its core product surface consists of the main news website hochi.news; a specialized horse-racing subscription site 馬トク (UMATOKU) with paid betting-analytics tiers; a boat-racing (競艇) prediction site BOATNAVI; a fashion/lifestyle portal ヨハクト (Yohakuto); the print newspaper; and native mobile apps on iOS and Google Play.

The company monetizes through four identifiable revenue streams: print newspaper sales and subscriptions; digital subscriptions (including the 馬トク有料コース paid horse-racing tier); advertising across both print and digital surfaces; and transaction-based print and photo services sold through convenience stores. Its go-to-market is fully consumer-direct, with no enterprise customer segment disclosed—products are acquired on a self-serve basis by individual readers via the website, subscription, app stores, or retail newsstand/convenience-store purchase. Marketing and distribution leverage a multi-channel mix: owned website, sports video on the official Sports Hochi YouTube channel, organic social on X/Twitter (@Hochi_Gorin), LINE, Facebook, and Instagram, email newsletters for members, plus content partnerships with Woman Excite (lifestyle) and dancyu (food/recipes). The company maintains a notable cross-promotional affiliation with the Yomiuri Shimbun group including shared advertising networks and Giants baseball coverage, though no formal parent-subsidiary relationship is disclosed.

Underlying technology is described in the source material as traditional newspaper publishing, with proprietary features limited to the 馬トク statistical database supporting race analysis and the newly launched October 2024 騎手ナビ (Jockey Navigation) tool. No APIs, SDKs, AI/ML modalities, or third-party technology integrations are disclosed. The company operates as a normal, actively publishing news media business with continuous daily content output observed through July 2026.

Name

Hochi Shimbun

Legal name

報知新聞社 (The Hochi Shimbun)

Website

https://hochi.news

Company type

Private

Founded year

1872

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Hochi Shimbun (報知新聞社) is a privately held Japanese sports and entertainment newspaper publisher operating the Sports Hochi brand since 1949, serving Japanese sports fans, entertainment readers, and horse-racing bettors via print, the hochi.news website, and specialized subscription sites 馬トク and BOATNAVI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Newspaper & Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Racing, Including Track Operation (7948)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports & Recreation Magazines (MPAJAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Racehorse Ownership, Syndication & Investment Platforms (MPAEADAG), Data Platforms, BI/Reporting & Player Analytics (CDP/Attribution) (MPAEAKAI)

Keywords

• Sports newspaper publishing
• Horse racing analysis
• Boat racing predictions
• Digital news media
• Entertainment journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Sumida

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Newspaper Sales: Physical newspaper sales and subscriptions
2. Digital Subscriptions: Paid membership subscriptions including premium racing content services (馬トク有料コース)
3. Advertising: Advertising revenue from digital and print platforms
4. Print Services: Convenience store print services and photo sales

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hochi Shimbun publishes a daily Japanese sports newspaper (報知新聞 / Sports Hochi) and operates the hochi.news digital news portal covering professional baseball, MLB, soccer, sumo, horse racing, boat racing, Olympics, entertainment, and lifestyle content. It also runs specialized vertical subscription services: 馬トク (UMATOKU) for horse racing analysis and betting ticket purchase, and BOATNAVI報知 for boat racing predictions, plus the ヨハクト fashion and lifestyle portal.

Product overview

Hochi Shimbun (報知新聞社) operates a multi-platform sports and entertainment media ecosystem. The core offerings include the print 報知新聞 newspaper and the digital スポーツ報知 (hochi.news) news website. The digital portfolio includes specialized vertical sites: 馬outil for horse racing with betting features and statistical analysis tools, ボートナビ for boat racing predictions, and ヨハクト for fashion and lifestyle content. These products serve different audience segments within the sports and entertainment domain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• スポーツ報知 (hochi.news) Main sports and entertainment news website of Hochi Shimbun, delivering coverage of professional baseball (Yomiuri Giants), MLB, soccer, sumo, horse racing, boat racing, motor sports, Olympics, World Cup, entertainment, fashion, manga, golf, and lifestyle content. Available with free membership and paid premium content.
• 報知新聞 (The Hochi Shimbun print newspaper) The print edition of Hochi Shimbun, Japan's sports newspaper published since 1872. Distributed through home delivery subscriptions, single-copy retail, and convenience-store photo print services (コンビニプリント).
• 馬トク (UMATOKU)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Yomiuri ShimbuncoreOthersCross-promotional relationship with Yomiuri Shimbun group companies including Giants baseball team coverage and shared advertising networks.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nikkan Sports: Japan's leading dedicated sports newspaper and digital site, covering baseball, soccer, horse racing, and entertainment. Most direct competitor to Sports Hochi in the Japanese sports-newspaper category.
• Tokyo Sports: Japanese sports and entertainment tabloid newspaper with strong horse-racing and boat-racing coverage. Competes directly with Hochi for bettor readers and entertainment-news traffic.
• Sports Nippon (Sports Nippon Shimbun): Major Japanese sports newspaper and digital platform with overlapping coverage of professional baseball, soccer, sumo, and racing. Operates similar freemium subscription model and convenience-store print distribution.
• netkeiba: Japan's largest dedicated horse racing data and information portal. The closest direct competitor to UMATOKU in horse-racing analytics, race predictions, and betting-support content.
• Sanspo (Sankeï Sports): Japanese sports newspaper operated within the Fujisankei media group, with comprehensive coverage of horse racing, baseball, and public betting categories that overlap UMATOKU.
• Daily Sports: Kobe-based Japanese sports newspaper with national digital reach covering baseball, soccer, and horse racing. A core competitor in the same sports-newspaper category.

Broad incumbents

• Yomiuri Shimbun: Japan's largest circulation general newspaper and Hochi's strategic partner through Yomiuri Giants coverage. Not a direct sports-newspaper competitor but a broad-incumbent media partner with shared advertising infrastructure.
• Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sports Navi): Dominant Japanese digital sports aggregator with broad coverage and free content. Competes with Hochi for advertising inventory and sports-news search traffic across multiple verticals.
• Boat Race Official / Boat Race Guide: Official boat-racing industry portal offering race predictions, results, and news. Direct competitive context for Hochi's BOATNAVI boat-racing navigation service.

Emerging players

• Number Web: Bungeishunju's digital sports magazine brand covering baseball, soccer, and racing with strong editorial. Overlaps Hochi in sports editorial and digital subscription sports coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sportshochi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJ4fZlvkA18aNgxPuYsMFKA
• Facebookfacebook.com/sportshochi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Hochi Shimbun