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06:56:16 <bay|Ota|Viewster> test
07:12:05 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Hello (mic test)
07:15:42 <bay|Ota|Viewster> We're really excited to be here...
07:15:44 <bay|Ota|Viewster> I'll get started
07:15:49 <bay|Ota|Viewster> This is our industry panel at otakon
07:15:55 <bay|Ota|Viewster> for those of you who know viewster, this is an intro
07:16:02 <bay|Ota|Viewster> viewster is a mobile app and website for streaming
07:16:07 <bay|Ota|Viewster> founded in zurch in 2007
07:16:12 <bay|Ota|Viewster> anime is largest category
07:16:18 <bay|Ota|Viewster> huge non-anime and branded channel oferring
07:16:28 <bay|Ota|Viewster> los angeles office set up in 2015
07:16:34 <bay|Ota|Viewster> launching premium in q4 2015
07:16:55 <bay|Ota|Viewster> first let me tell you about our anime
07:16:59 <bay|Ota|Viewster> here is some of the anime we have on viewster
07:18:25 <bay|Ota|Viewster> there are simulcasts, those are available for free as soon as they go live
07:17:41 <bay|Ota|Viewster> and there are a bunch of what we call anime rescues
07:17:48 <bay|Ota|Viewster> and there are a lot of classics that i think the younger generation hasn't heard of
07:17:58 <bay|Ota|Viewster> so i'm going to tell you about a rescue at the end of the panel
07:18:04 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we have quite a few exclusives
07:18:09 <bay|Ota|Viewster> and a few things you can't get on the usual sites
07:18:11 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we have a selection
07:18:13 <bay|Ota|Viewster> it's all free
07:18:29 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Non-anime....
07:18:43 <bay|Ota|Viewster> do you guys only watch anime or do you guys watch stuff that isn't anime?
07:19:22 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we have stuff like merlin... we have some really obscure stuff.. we have a content team, but there is stuff like mid 2000s french candian low budget films with poor sfx
07:19:35 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we have a bruce lee movies and all kinds of non-anime stuff too
07:19:59 <bay|Ota|Viewster> This is Tommy, he's our curator
07:20:05 <bay|Ota|Viewster> And I'm Rob, I'm CEO of viewster
07:20:55 <bay|Ota|Viewster> We're also launching these things called branded channels
07:21:01 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we're launching these in the next two weeks
07:21:07 <bay|Ota|Viewster> All Time Top 10s
07:21:08 <bay|Ota|Viewster> How it should have ended
07:21:10 <bay|Ota|Viewster> yo mama
07:21:11 <bay|Ota|Viewster> animeme
07:21:12 <bay|Ota|Viewster> mondos
07:21:15 <bay|Ota|Viewster> the escaptis
07:21:17 <bay|Ota|Viewster> smosh games
07:21:19 <bay|Ota|Viewster> shuup cartoons
07:21:48 <bay|Ota|Viewster> And something we're doing in the fall
07:21:52 <bay|Ota|Viewster> it's called Omakase
07:22:28 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this concept comes from sushi restaurants, where you go and there is no menu
07:22:36 <bay|Ota|Viewster> and you leave it to the chef
07:22:41 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we're doing a service that...
07:22:51 <bay|Ota|Viewster> you leave it to us and we do cool things for you
07:23:53 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Viewster's premium subscription service
07:22:58 <bay|Ota|Viewster> launching in q4 2015
07:23:03 <bay|Ota|Viewster> bimonthly box of premium and exclusive mechandise
07:23:07 <bay|Ota|Viewster> HD video without advertisments
07:23:13 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Third category of digital content (secret)
07:23:16 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Highly curated
07:23:33 <bay|Ota|Viewster> The box though... it's not like... oh I want to get that figure.. it's going to be stuff you've never seen before...
07:24:28 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we're doing custom toys for this from some of your favorite animes
07:24:45 <bay|Ota|Viewster> and we'll have like... special hardcover, hologram, gold foil.. it's going to be stuff you want
07:24:56 <bay|Ota|Viewster> and I"m going to hand it to tommy for a sec to talk about what we mean by curation
07:26:53 <bay|Ota|Viewster> So basically, we've seen other people making merchandise boxes at a discount level, or pay us $10, get 20 grabbag things
07:25:19 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this isn't waht we want to do
07:25:25 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we want to curate and create an experience for you
07:25:53 <bay|Ota|Viewster> so this goes back to the philiosophy of the sushi restaurant of paying a lot for premium content
07:26:22 <bay|Ota|Viewster> when we talk about curation, we're talking about artists known in the fan community who can cross over... or looking at toys that were discontinued or never saw the light of day
07:27:15 <bay|Ota|Viewster> so now, i'm going to tell you a little about what we call the beta box coming out
07:28:44 <bay|Ota|Viewster> what's in the.beta box
07:27:35 <bay|Ota|Viewster> out of print rare set of mameshiba goods
07:28:22 <bay|Ota|Viewster> exclusive original print by alex ahad (skullgirls)
07:27:48 <bay|Ota|Viewster> other cool merchandise (to be revealed)
07:27:51 <bay|Ota|Viewster> not available to purchase ever
07:27:59 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we want to hear your feedback
07:28:17 <bay|Ota|Viewster> if you stop by the booth, you will get a prize, but a select few will get a box later
07:29:01 <bay|Ota|Viewster> there is a cool plush in there...
07:29:09 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this box is not for purchse
07:29:11 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this is only for testing
07:29:18 <bay|Ota|Viewster> it's like beta testing a game, but you get to test thebox
07:29:38 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we're doing the bigger launch in Q4
07:30:15 <bay|Ota|Viewster> but once you become an Omakae member, in addtion to the box, you can watch in HD, without commercials..and there will be stuff like music too (not sure if i heard that last part right)
07:30:23 <bay|Ota|Viewster> and we have a cool announcement
07:30:30 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this is a license rescue
07:30:32 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this title...
07:30:52 <bay|Ota|Viewster> who has watched 80's or 90s?
07:31:06 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this title was really awesome...and in CA, we had this crazy PBS station
07:31:09 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this is before toonami
07:31:29 <bay|Ota|Viewster> but one thing they had...this show..an OVA, originally released by viz but expired
07:31:32 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Key the metal Idol
07:31:35 <bay|Ota|Viewster> worldwide outside japan and asia
07:31:41 <bay|Ota|Viewster> english subtitles
07:31:43 <bay|Ota|Viewster> all 15 episodes
07:31:49 <bay|Ota|Viewster> german subtitles if you care
07:32:28 <bay|Ota|Viewster> license rescue in the Omakase philosophy
07:32:33 <bay|Ota|Viewster> this will be launching in a month ish
07:32:38 <bay|Ota|Viewster> it's free even if you aren't a member
07:32:44 <bay|Ota|Viewster> but if you join, you get HD no ads
07:32:52 <bay|Ota|Viewster> so that's the kind of thing we want to talk about
07:32:53 <bay|Ota|Viewster> so opening it up to Q&A
07:33:54 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: What price point are we looking at?
07:34:09 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: We'll announce it soon.. it's close to a box that comes out from a certain comic company
07:34:41 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: How much content do you expect to be in each box?
07:35:46 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: I don't know if you know about other boxes.. but there will be at least 5 items... but if we have smaller things, we'll bundled them together, like the mameshiba will be a set of 4 bundled together
07:35:58 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: Time frame for future announcements?
07:36:41 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: We're rolling this out... there are two parts to this... we're first getting the stuff in the beta box...and we'll be able to announce the launch box soon
07:38:15 <bay|Ota|Viewster> (he's talking about the whole approvals process for getting things in the box)
07:38:48 <bay|Ota|Viewster> We might ...absolutely have a lot more info for you by then... we'll be announcing things on twitter and facebook...
07:39:55 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: Any further to announce about ps4 clients or other coming clients
07:40:29 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: So on devices, we kinda segment viewster.. we have web, mobile and devices... we see we have a lot of stuff on consoles... we launched on xbox...
07:40:42 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we've done a lot of stick and settops...we've done roku and firetv
07:40:48 <bay|Ota|Viewster> i think the focus right now is the game consoles
07:40:54 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we don't have a time frame, but we are working on game console apps
07:41:13 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: How the hell are you making money because I rarely gets ads?
07:41:47 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: The way video ads work (too complicated to follow)
07:41:59 <bay|Ota|Viewster> And for HD, there will be better quality with Omakase...
07:42:16 <bay|Ota|Viewster> We have a long history of business.. we are global... we have a stronger footprint in Europe than the US
07:42:23 <bay|Ota|Viewster> ad sales are much better in Europe
07:42:45 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: (region question)
07:43:08 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: I think the UK and Germany isn't relevant to you giuys here, but in Germany, we have a ton of content... and UK we're super strong.. we have a bunch of output deals
07:43:38 <bay|Ota|Viewster> But we're always looking for license rescues and stuff by famous creators who never got released
07:43:47 <bay|Ota|Viewster> (And he repeated the music thing from earlier)
07:43:54 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: What companies are you working with?
07:44:04 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: On the content side, we work with whoever has the content...
07:44:25 <bay|Ota|Viewster> If FUNimation or Viz or whoever has it, they are to us the licensor
07:44:40 <bay|Ota|Viewster> We work closely with the US side as well as Japan
07:44:44 <bay|Ota|Viewster> on the NA website, we have a lot of stuff from FUNImation
07:44:47 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we have a lot of stuff from Sentai
07:45:13 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we just did a deal, we have a lot of stuff coming
07:44:59 <bay|Ota|Viewster> we have tv tokyo, we have aniplex, we have nhk
07:45:20 <bay|Ota|Viewster> on the Europe side, it's a lot of direct deals
07:45:30 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: And you mentioned exclusive shows to Omakase?
07:45:58 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: Like we just announced Key, and that's been out of distro for 15 years... it's like we're uncovered buried treasure... of course, if there is right simulcast, we want to do this too
07:46:20 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: I meant exlusive to Omakase... only if you pay you can watch
07:46:47 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: there will be a few titles like that, we believe in letting people watch in lower definition and ads for free
07:46:41 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Typically like that, it's set by the licensor
07:47:09 <bay|Ota|Viewster> (Going over the Hollywood release window)
07:47:53 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Same for anime, most anime... it's episodic.. but for movies, and ultrapremium shows, that goes on as well... like for movies, you see fathom events..and then digital download... but you won't see streaming on digital platforms
07:48:06 <bay|Ota|Viewster> So if the licensor tells us, we'll do that
07:48:10 <bay|Ota|Viewster> but we don't plan on doing too much of that
07:48:30 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: Do you have dubs available along with subs?
07:48:37 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: Depends on teh show... a lot of the funimation stuff, we have dubs
07:48:45 <bay|Ota|Viewster> We have 20 or 30 shows from Marvelous, all subs
07:48:59 <bay|Ota|Viewster> I'd say all the US, all the funi stufff.. is both.. the JPN stuff is mostly sub
07:49:13 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: Do you support foreign dubbing? Like German dub?
07:49:31 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: If we do a worldwide multiterritory deal, we sometimes have that
07:49:36 <bay|Ota|Viewster> there are a few titles
07:50:02 <bay|Ota|Viewster> but for most English licensed titles, we only have English
07:52:47 <bay|Ota|Viewster> (going back to joke telling for prizes)
07:55:24 <bay|Ota|Viewster> (asking what the audience wants to see in the box, exciting accessories or fashion things)
07:56:54 <bay|Ota|Viewster> (there is something lined up with udon for the box)
07:58:59 <bay|Ota|Viewster> there is an awesome comic company doing something bimonthly...i love that model...
07:59:19 <bay|Ota|Viewster> (bimonthly being every other month)
07:59:33 <bay|Ota|Viewster> two month billing cycle
08:00:02 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Q: Will there be an option to pay for a year?
08:00:14 <bay|Ota|Viewster> A: We're looking at the different models, we're not ready to announce, but there will be options
08:01:33 <bay|Ota|Viewster> (someone is talking about rescues of physical items and mercandise... and rob is basically trying not to let something spill)
08:01:40 <bay|Ota|Viewster> Thank you for coming