Anime on Demand - Good news and bad news

[anime_andrew]

Actually a better indicator might be Funimation's Youtube streams, which do us the favour of counting the views. Check the page for the Fairy Tale streams. Again, these are streaming to the (much of the) world, not just the US, or the UK. They've been putting up two episodes a week every week. The most recent episodes have been up for three weeks, and they've only had around 12.000 and 14.000 views respectively. Worse, the episodes reach a plateau point after some time, and the majority of the earlier episodes peak at around 30,000 views.

To make content free, they have to sell advertising on the strength of those numbers, thousands where companies would much rather reach millions. And Anime on Demand is a fraction of that.

It's why I feel that the anime industry as a whole, from all the way back at the start point, should be subsidising free streaming as a loss leader for eventual home media sales.

The numbers above highlight the problem and the bottom is indeed a solution - I think the question is how do you best make a loss leading exercise translate into sales of the physical product. As not everyone is as diligent (sadly) to go out and buy the physical product when it comes out if they liked a free stream of a whole series.

Cycling content may help towards that or specifically tying those fans into opportunities for exclusive merchandise maybe. There's definitely got to be an effective way to do it though.

Tl;dr - JPT gives an excellent example with Fairy Tail.

 

[anime_andrew]

Am i alone in saying that 9/10 of my anime purchases are blind buys, much like 9/10 of my gaming purchases and 9/10 of my DVD/BD film purchases are blind buys?

Nope. I love the thrill of a blind buy.

/deftly avoids debate at hand

I actually love the thrill of a blind buy too - it's how I started playing the FEAR series initially.

Although the Steam sale is always a way of encouraging my blind buying tendencies too.

 

[ConanThe3rd]

The numbers above highlight the problem and the bottom is indeed a solution - I think the question is how do you best make a loss leading exercise translate into sales of the physical product. As not everyone is as diligent (sadly) to go out and buy the physical product when it comes out if they liked a free stream of a whole series.

Cycling content may help towards that or specifically tying those fans into opportunities for exclusive merchandise maybe. There's definitely got to be an effective way to do it though.

And locking people who come in mid season out of the content is the way to do it?

 

[anime_andrew]

I honestly think what I'm asking for is not unreasonable and the perks that subscribing offers that I described are worth the tenner each month to keep.

I'm not asking every show acquired by Kazé for AOD to be viewable for free in-perpetuity, just the shows that are airing this season such that, say I was informed that suddenly Maken-Ki suddenly became Gurren Lagann 2.0 half way though the season, I could easily start from the beginning and catch up without penalty and in a lower quality bracket than the premium product and if I wanted to watch Tiger and Bunny all the way though, I have that option if I subscribe.

Again, Honey rather than Vinegar.

What you are asking for is more than the Japanese get in their own country based on a TV broadcast usually. Why should you get more than the Japanese get when you're paying nothing? That's one of the many things it boils down to and isn't a statement, it's a genuine question.

I'm more than happy to look at cycling content and maybe a broadcast style streaming arrangement for free that is fair though as it's not unreasonable to have a chance to see it for free on a regular basis .

Even to go back and stream the whole series the month after it ends airing for free over a cycled period though - that doesn't mean it should be up for the whole season though.

 

[anime_andrew]

On a tangent, Andrew, would you mind giving your IP geolocation people a kick? I was unable to access the site from my phone earlier due to being outside of the UK, when I was slap bang in the centre of London

(It's working fine now. O2. The videos working instantly on the phone with no app required is ace.)

R

Weird, so it randomly started working again? Will look into that! We did update earlier so that may have been why...

Glad you like that change, I was very keen on that being the next logical step anyway too for this kind of site .

Andrew

 

[anime_andrew]

I expected this, but I never used it anyway so no loss to me. All I can say is good luck with that.

Out of curiosity - is there anything that would tempt you into using it? Never hurts to ask .

Andrew

 

[ConanThe3rd]

I honestly think what I'm asking for is not unreasonable and the perks that subscribing offers that I described are worth the tenner each month to keep.

I'm not asking every show acquired by Kazé for AOD to be viewable for free in-perpetuity, just the shows that are airing this season such that, say I was informed that suddenly Maken-Ki suddenly became Gurren Lagann 2.0 half way though the season, I could easily start from the beginning and catch up without penalty and in a lower quality bracket than the premium product and if I wanted to watch Tiger and Bunny all the way though, I have that option if I subscribe.

Again, Honey rather than Vinegar.

What you are asking for is more than the Japanese get in their own country based on a TV broadcast usually. Why should you get more than the Japanese get when you're paying nothing? That's one of the many things it boils down to and isn't a statement, it's a genuine question.

I'm more than happy to look at cycling content and maybe a broadcast style streaming arrangement for free that is fair though as it's not unreasonable to have a chance to see it for free on a regular basis .

Even to go back and stream the whole series the month after it ends airing for free over a cycled period though - that doesn't mean it should be up for the whole season though.

What I am asking for, Andrew, is what Anime on Demand has provided me previous to this grand unveiling of this new design that somehow now demands a destruction of the previous status quo being, as I have stated previously, the show being up for complete viewing in Standard Definition for the duration of the show's run in Japan.

Why should I pay Kazé now when I haven't been previously (except for that four weeks that I paid for when Persona started airing only for that to go arse up thanks to Kaze France's utterly brilliant little own goal)? What has suddenly changed that has put the onus on me to pay for what has clearly become a SNAFU of Terminal Proportions on the part of Kazé?

 

[Rui]

If you're never going to forgive them for one isolated and very unfortunate incident where a simulcast was delayed due to matters Anime On Demand themselves had no control over, I would suggest you are letting this annoyance drive your entire stance and are being unreasonable. Things change. The free service wasn't working. Moaning incessantly won't make it become a model which works.

AoD don't need to tell you why you need their service and bend over backwards to cater for one disgruntled ex-customer. They would get a lot more out of hearing what would make you want it - and want to pay for it. Dumping a load of features you know you don't personally want or need into a pile and calling that a benefit for subscribers in order to get everything you want out of the deal (whilst giving nothing back in the immediate term) isn't helping anyone.

Before the bitterness about P4 set in, what was it that made you want to subscribe to AoD before? Perhaps they should make their SD offerings even lower quality to sweeten the quality bump when people subscribe*?

R

* Not a suggestion I personally favour, but I am curious what makes people decide to upgrade.

 

[ConanThe3rd]

I'll tell you exactly why I bought a subscription. It was for Persona 4 itself. However, I had the whole of Tiger and Bunny to decide that buying a subscription was, in of itself, a good idea. Without Tiger and Bunny being FTA in a manor where I could watch it as I pleased that season I don't think I would have bought a subscription.

The P4 incident was two fold; I paid for a season, I only got four weeks and then the stream was delayed because Kazé is probably about as well run as Manga from the looks of things and Andrew is stuck playing "Sane man in a planet of fools" again.

I do feel an explanation besides "advertising isn't working" as in order (and in an ideal world, not though Andrew). This is essentially a complete shift in the dynamic that Kazé has offered previously and, honestly, I don't feel safe offering them money again if what I think is happening is happening.

 

[reborn]

Andrew, has the captcha been fixed for the contact form yet? I was attempting to send a few bugs/suggestions a few days back.

 

[reborn]

The P4 incident was two fold actually; I paid for a season, I only got four weeks and then the stream was delayed because Kazé is probably about as well run as Manga from the looks of things.

Season passes have been extended(?), heck mine for this season now lasts till mid-February. (Originally december)

 

[ilmaestro]

I'm upset that I missed the "action" in this thread, it was a very interesting one to read back on, all I can really add at this point is that I hope something can be sorted out that will provide as well-accepted a solution as is financially possible, because I think the new site is a tip-top effort, far better than I was expecting, and I do agree "in general" with the idea that a massive reduction in free content will hurt the venture in the long run.

Someone sees Harry Potter on Blu Ray for a tenner, goes "I remember Harry Potter being good from what I saw on ITV (or Sky Movies, or whatever)! I think I'll buy it!" and does so.

Sky Movies, that legendary free streaming service.

It's why I feel that the anime industry as a whole, from all the way back at the start point, should be subsidising free streaming as a loss leader for eventual home media sales.

This is exactly the foundation on which the anime industry is based, for all but a handful of shows. Japanese companies pay money to put their shows on TV, and then make money on physical media and goods sales. The difference is, their physical media goes for ~10 times (precise number irrelevant) the price that people expect to pay over here, and is bought by ~10 times as many people (precise number irrelevant). The industry in this country is simply too niche to support most of the "obvious" solutions that people are going to suggest, imo.

 

[Vashdaman]

For some reason, whenever I hear how ludicrously expensive Japanese anime is to buy over there......I get a mental image of Haruki Murakami "making it rain"in a nightclub while wearing nothing but a pair of underpants on his head.....quite a strange mental image to be having, now that I'm dwelling on it.

 

[ConanThe3rd]

Someone sees Harry Potter on Blu Ray for a tenner, goes "I remember Harry Potter being good from what I saw on ITV (or Sky Movies, or whatever)! I think I'll buy it!" and does so.

Sky Movies, that legendary free streaming service.

Don't get cute with me. I'm not in the damn mood for it.

 

[jonno394]

Someone sees Harry Potter on Blu Ray for a tenner, goes "I remember Harry Potter being good from what I saw on ITV (or Sky Movies, or whatever)! I think I'll buy it!" and does so.

Sky Movies, that legendary free streaming service.

Don't get cute with me. I'm not in the damn mood for it.

He's got a point though, the point in time when teh likes of Harry potter or any major film is on a freeview station is months (in some cases) years after the title has been available on DVD/BD and at that point the DVD will be far far below it's rrp.

 

[anime_andrew]

Andrew, has the captcha been fixed for the contact form yet? I was attempting to send a few bugs/suggestions a few days back.

Should be fixed now - if not I'll DM you an email address for bugs instead .

Andrew

 

[anime_andrew]

It's why I feel that the anime industry as a whole, from all the way back at the start point, should be subsidising free streaming as a loss leader for eventual home media sales.

This is exactly the foundation on which the anime industry is based, for all but a handful of shows. Japanese companies pay money to put their shows on TV, and then make money on physical media and goods sales. The difference is, their physical media goes for ~10 times (precise number irrelevant) the price that people expect to pay over here, and is bought by ~10 times as many people (precise number irrelevant). The industry in this country is simply too niche to support most of the "obvious" solutions that people are going to suggest, imo.

You've summed it up well there. That said it doesn't mean we should give up though either - am keen to try and find a balance that does work in our market .

Andrew

 

[ConanThe3rd]

Someone sees Harry Potter on Blu Ray for a tenner, goes "I remember Harry Potter being good from what I saw on ITV (or Sky Movies, or whatever)! I think I'll buy it!" and does so.

Sky Movies, that legendary free streaming service.

Don't get cute with me. I'm not in the damn mood for it.

He's got a point though, the point in time when teh likes of Harry potter or any major film is on a freeview station is months (in some cases) years after the title has been available on DVD/BD and at that point the DVD will be far far below it's rrp.

You know what, well done, you get that one half of a brick out of an entire wall. Doesn't mean you have defeated me and I'm suddenly going to hemorrhage money to keep AOD on life support.

 

[ayase]

Someone sees Harry Potter on Blu Ray for a tenner, goes "I remember Harry Potter being good from what I saw on ITV (or Sky Movies, or whatever)! I think I'll buy it!" and does so.

Sky Movies, that legendary free streaming service.

Don't get cute with me. I'm not in the damn mood for it.

He's got a point though, the point in time when teh likes of Harry potter or any major film is on a freeview station is months (in some cases) years after the title has been available on DVD/BD and at that point the DVD will be far far below it's rrp.

You know what, well done, you get that one half of a brick out of an entire wall. Doesn't mean you have defeated me and I'm suddenly going to hemorrhage money to keep AOD on life support.

It's a good job subscribing to AOD isn't a mandatory tax then, eh?

You've made some sensible points, but I'm not sure why you're quite so angry about something which doesn't stand to personally lose you any money or in fact (given that you're well aware of the alternatives) even inconvenience you in any way. At the end of the day, you can choose to support it or not, and let Andrew and Kaze worry about how and if it's going to make money.

 

[anime_andrew]

You know what, well done, you get that one half of a brick out of an entire wall. Doesn't mean you have defeated me and I'm suddenly going to hemorrhage money to keep AOD on life support.

It's a good job subscribing to AOD isn't a mandatory tax then, eh?

You've made some sensible points, but I'm not sure why you're quite so angry about something which doesn't stand to personally lose you any money or in fact (given that you're well aware of the alternatives) even inconvenience you in any way. At the end of the day, you can choose to support it or not, and let Andrew and Kaze worry about how and if it's going to make money.

Couldn't agree more - in fact if anything the angry and often unfounded ranting filled with false insinuations towards the capabilities of my colleagues, the status of the business really detracts from any good points made. Which is a shame.

Ah well oh well! Back to looking at the constructive criticism - expect some real feedback early in the New Year when everyone I need is in the right place.