Crunchyroll Launches E-Commerce Platform for Simultaneous “Video Streaming and Shopping” Experience
Leader in premium content seeks to tightly integrate e-commerce with streaming video content
San Francisco, CA(21 May 2013)
Crunchyroll, Inc., the leading anime and Asian entertainment streaming service, today announced the first online platform for “integrated content consumption and shopping” that offers users the ability to purchase merchandise related to Crunchyroll streaming video content. Crunchyroll seeks to combine streaming and shopping to create a new model for both e-commerce and streaming video content.
“We are innovating around content streaming and delivering e-commerce capabilities to immediately connect viewers with merchandise relevant to the video content that they are viewing, and we’re only at the beginning stage of where we want to go with the combined experience, said Brady McCollum, COO of Crunchyroll. “Our goal is to bring our loyal viewers a surround-sound consumer experience with the ability to purchase DVDs, video games, figures, and other highly relevant merchandise related to their favorite shows. Crunchyroll continues to be the number one Asian content and lifestyle destination by combining content, community, social, and merchandise.”
As the leading video streaming service for anime and Asian entertainment, Crunchyroll realized a unique opportunity to serve its customers with better access to merchandise. Traditionally, over 70% of the anime ecosystem is monetized via merchandise against globally recognizable names including Naruto Shippuden, BLEACH, and Nendoroid. Crunchyroll has established relationships with partners throughout Asia to sell exclusive merchandise previously not available outside of Asia, as well as to generate additional revenue sources for domestic partners on existing merchandise. With media and e-commerce partners such as TV Tokyo and Good Smile Company in Japan – the largest anime Broadcaster and one of the best known figure manufacturers in Japan, Crunchyroll will continue to build upon its content ecosystem to monetize digital, video, and now retail content.
About Crunchyroll, Inc.
Crunchyroll is a leading global destination and platform for Japanese anime and Asian content. Through applications like Crunchyroll for iPhone, iPad, Android, Playstation 3, Xbox LIVE, Internet-enabled TVs, set-top boxes, affiliate websites and its own streaming website, Crunchyroll delivers over 25,000 episodes and 15,000 hours of officially-licensed content from leading Asian media producers direct to viewers translated professionally in multiple languages within minutes of TV broadcast.
Crunchyroll has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, and is a member of the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) and Licensing International Merchandisers' Association (LIMA). Officially launched in 2009, Crunchyroll is funded by leading venture capital firm, Venrock, Japanese entertainment giant TV TOKYO, and a group of angel investors representing some of the brightest and most successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. More information can be found at http://www.crunchyroll.com.