Originally Posted by
kaku_jinbutsu
I had always assumed that the Shinkansen class of service came from the French “grand” (pronounced “gran”). I think it’s unrelated to the NHK ご覧のスポンサー (“go-ran no suponsa,” “the sponsors that you see (here)”)
Not to get into possibly misguided pedanterizations, but I always understood the ご覧のスポンサー translated as the sponsors of the show that you (the esteemed viewer) is ご覧nning, as 覧 means to view or peruse (or even read something, like a pamphlet or an instruction manual). So the 覧 refers to the TV program being viewed, that is sponsored by the list of companies mentioned right after.