On September 10, NHK chairman Maeda Terunobu held a press conference announcing that this year's 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' will be held without an audience in an effort to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. This is the first time in the program's history to be held without an audience. 

The 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' is scheduled to air on December 31 from 7:30 pm to 11:45 pm JST. In recent years, the program had started from 7:15 pm, so it will be pushed back 15 minutes this year. 

Source: NHK, Model Press