Except for about a 10-year period from the mid ‘80s to mid ‘90s, historically the most popular anime series have aired in TV.
Ironically, anime’s exodus from prime time comes in an era of unprecedented TV anime quantity, with more series being produced and shown on free broadcast television than every before.
A mere two series vacating their time slots ordinarily wouldn’t be so significant, but in this case Pikachu and Boruto’s departure cuts the remaining number of weekday prime time TV anime cleanly in half.
For as passionate as Japan’s anime fanbase is, they’re also exceptionally techno-savvy, and odds are broadcasters figure they’ll find ways to watch series they’re interested in regardless of when they air, as the scores of successful late-night anime can attest to.