Nippon Television Network Corp. will set up an in-house investigation panel on Monday to look into the scandal involving a producer who bribed TV viewer rating monitors in a bid to manipulate the ratings of his own shows, the company said Saturday.
At a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, Nippon Television President Toshio Hagiwara confirmed the producer had bribed TV rating monitors and apologized.
The company said Saturday that it will continue to question the producer to determine more details of the case, including where the money -- between 5,000 yen and 10,000 yen in the form of gift certificates -- that the producer paid to the viewers came from.
The panel will be headed by board member Akira Hara and will include lawyers and other experts from outside the company, according to the firm. The panel will have more than 10 members, it added.
After receiving the panel's report, the company will decide the most appropriate punishment for the producer.
The company was flooded with complaints from viewers on Saturday, with one viewer telling the company, "It is an act to deceive viewers."
According to the broadcaster, the 41-year-old producer, who has not been identified, hired a Saitama Prefecture-based credit research agent to identify about a dozen households chosen by Video Research Ltd. to serve as TV viewer rating monitors.