One thing that sparked me to finally tackle yesterday’s anime you can watch legally list was learning about Viewster, a streaming service that I had no idea about. There’s a reason for that. The site started streaming anime in 2013, and this summer they’re finally doing their first simulcasts for the European market. But I don’t know enough about them, their plans regarding anime (even if it’s not my market for the most part), and anything else regarding it.
So I emailed over questions to Viewster, and got answers from the Director of Content and Productions at Viewster, Robert Franke.
Organization ASG: What would you say Viewster is and what is the goal of this service?
Robert Franke: Viewster is about discovering the best in original entertainment before it hits the mainstream, from the freshest Japanese Anime, hottest Korean Drama, to most chilling Thrillers and engaging documentaries. Viewster is also the only online video service with its own film festival that brings together creators with a global audience.
Organization ASG: When starting Viewster was anime ever on the table to include on the service, or did that gradually become an option as it continued to grow?
Franke: Parts of the editorial team of Viewster are huge anime fans. We have always been aware that anime is a great vertical with a huge fanbase but it took us some time to actually license the first contents. We had to make sure that Viewster is a good home for anime and we wanted to wait until we relaunched our site to provide the kind of environment anime fans expect from a serious anime provider.
Organization ASG: How did the opportunity to work with FUNimation present itself? Did you approach them for adding titles to Viewster or vice versa, and how is the relationship between the two of you?
Franke: FUNimation is a great company with a dedicated team of anime experts so we thought it would be the perfect partner for Viewster’s first anime endeavours. The idea was to learn from their experience and involve them in selection of the first batch of anime titles so we could jump start our anime vertical from there.
Organization ASG: Do you have plans to add other anime titles from other companies?
Franke: Yes, in fact we are talking now directly to most of the relevant anime production and distribution companies and TV stations in Japan to make sure that Viewster becomes a driving force for quality anime in Europe. We have an exciting pipeline coming up in Q3 and Q4 with enough content to keep fans busy binge watching for months on our site.
Organization ASG: You announced what anime series are simulcasting on Viewster in Europe. When did the company decide it was best to try and simulcast titles for the service and why you believe it was worth exploring?
Franke: We know that simulcasting is an important cornerstone on our way to becoming a major source for anime in Europe. Illegal streaming sites and the fansubbing scene created a demand for fresh content after it has been aired in Japan and we have to make sure that we can provide a legal alternative.
Organization ASG: How was the process of simulcasting titles like? Did anything surprise you, was difficult, etc?
Franke: The process is surprisingly straight forward. Our Japanese content providers are unbelievably professional and well organised. We get the shows, produce English subtitles and set them live after airing in Japan TV. However, since the productions are regularly changed in the very last minute, it’s a great challenge to get everything published at the right time.
Organization ASG: What do you believe the perception of anime is in Europe? Have you gotten feedback and commentary from people about that?
Franke: We believe anime is no longer a niche genre mainly reserved for freaks and geeks. Just the opposite we see that anime is gaining more and more recognition by a broader audience and one of the reasons is in fact the distribution through the internet (beside the artistic quality like out-of-the-box storytelling, mind blowing visuals, etc). We believe that anime will become a pop cultural key influencer in the next few years also in western media.
So far the feedback is great. People love that we give them the possibility to watch their all-time favorite anime series on Viewster as well as the latest simulcasts, immediately after they have been aired in Japan. We are working hard to complete our lineup and involve our community and the anime fans in general more in the programming decision.
Organization ASG: Region locking has been one of the big things that has been a source of criticism for companies like Crunchyroll, Funimation, etc. Can you share from a business perspective why it is necessary for region locking to take place?
Franke: We at Viewster are passionate digital natives and VoD users ourselves and totally get the frustration of the end users about geoblocking and regional blocks. But as unfortunate as these geoblocks may seem, they are a necessity from a business point of view, since these unspoken rules and regulations in the media industry enable the producers in Japan to actually pay all those great artists out there to produce the content which is enjoyed by millions of fans out there. Opposite to all those illegal anime streaming sites, companies like Crunchyroll, Funimation and Viewster pay license fees to bring the content to the fans and enable the Japanese producers. We believe it’s important to educate our users about the economic site of the business at least so they understand why we have to stick to these rules.
We have a bad habit of talking about piracy with regard to finished and popular filmed entertainment. Partly, this is because it suits piracy’s supporters to say things like “XYZ tentpole made a gazillion dollars, so piracy does no harm and probably even helps.” But for every Naruto and Attack on Titan out there, there are hundreds or thousands of small and medium budget series being made, many of which are based on smaller manga series most treasured by serious fans.
Organization ASG: Can your team can share any of their favorite few anime series that they’d recommend to people?
Franke: Probably like most of the anime community we are super big fans of Attack on Titan (and we are working hard to add it to our site, which is not as easy as fans may believe). But beside that we love Samurai Champloo, El Cazador de la Bruja, Black Lagoon, or even classics like Hellsing or Golgo 13 are on our most-loved-anime list. Beside that the Viewster editorial team is a big fan of Bakumatsu Rock and Momokyun Sword.
Organization ASG: How do you see anime expanding on Viewster in the next few years?
Franke: We are working hard to become a home for anime fans in Europe. And we know that it’s not enough to only provide content to the fans. We want that the fans have the chance to really contribute to play an active role in the way Viewster will expand into the anime business. It’s all about the fans: we want give to provide a safe and legal forum to watch and share thoughts about anime but also make the fans an integral part of the Viewster anime experience.
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Justin
Justin is the founder of Organization Anti-Social Geniuses. Anime & manga fan that likes to blog about anime and manga, is addicted to sports, and weak to crossovers. You can follow Justin on Twitter @Kami_nomi.
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