[Marcus H.]

Well, your argument seemed to be that anime could reach that "wider audience" without noitaminA, and that a particular series proved that. But I guess I misread you there.

I think you understood my point well, although I'm not too knowledgeable with an anime series' ratings based on gender and age.

It isn't wholly (or even mostly) about reaching a wider audience. It's about giving shows that would otherwise never be aired a chance to be seen. I can think of many examples without even trying - Sarai-ya Goyou, Hourou Musuko and Natsuyuki Rendzvous are just the first that pop into my mind - of shows that would almost assuredly never have been made if NoitaminA didn't exist. And that makes its demise a small-t tragedy in the narrow focus of the anime universe.

I remember the "troll charts" that /a/ usually posts.

For those who don't know, "troll charts" are designed to look similar to a seasonal anime lineup, but only contains what /a/ thinks would make it in a particular season in the future. They're so-called "troll charts" because they tend to troll people into "keeping their hopes up that <insert favorite anime series here> would get an anime series or another season, etc.

Initially, people thought that some anime series would never get an anime because of several factors, and has appeared in a few troll charts as well. however, over the course of time, the same series that made it to a troll chart eventually gets an anime series announcement. (Cue the shitstorms about Rozen Maiden getting another anime after a loooooong time.)

I think even josei media have a chance for an adaptation. It may look slim, but that's simply how the competition in getting a anime works.

Fuji TV created the block to target women in their 20s. Their initial strategy was to produce adaptations of popular josei manga.

Now if you're referring to Koji Yamamoto (who eventually became chief producer), then yeah, he's more interested in creating unique shows that defy expectations. However, that wasn't the actual purpose of the block, and some of his programming decisions bothered production studios.

Early on, ratings (which were significantly higher than those of most late night shows) showed continuous growth, so something was working. The stability/gradual growth suggested that they had established a dependable viewership who would tune in season after season.

Nevertheless, the model proved to be unsustainable for several reasons.

^ From what I read on your post, it seems that noitaminA was just as niche as or more niche than the standard anime series timeslot. That late-night slot doesn't really help the cause at all.