Why did the anime stop having ending songs since episode 279? Since episode 279, the One Piece anime doesn't have ending songs. Instead, it has long openings: almost 3 minutes, instead of the usual 1:30 openings.

What was the reason for this change?
I don't think any official explanations were given (I tried to search but there are only speculations). 

I think the most probable reason is the fact that when you're watching broadcasts on TV, as soon as the ending theme song pops up you change to another channel. Almost nobody watches the ending credits/openings and this is true also for other things. Think about when you go to the movies: when the credits starts rolling, is there someone that will stay sit there? Maybe, but that's quite rare. Same for movies on TV, you usually change it because... you really don't care, unless you need to look up some actor/character in those rare occasions.

For this reason, and I'm quite convinced this is the case, they cut the ending theme song, made the opening longer and put the credits there instead. More people are likely to watch it, not just those that like the song, but also once you get to the channel, you're less likely to change it just because it hasn't started yet.

Along with the recap, this makes the "opening part" much longer, even cutting from the usual ~24 minutes of actual episode time.