WEBVTT - Anime Streamer Crunchyroll Is a Rare SVOD Success Story 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:12.520 Welcome to Strictly Business, Variety's weekly podcast featuring conversations about 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.840 the business of media and entertainment. I'm Tyler Aquilina, a 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:20.400 media analyst for Variety Intelligence Platform. Anime or Japanese animation 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:22.800 has come a long way in the past few decades. 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:25.920 Fans who once had little recourse but bootlegs and piracy 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:27.760 to watch their favorite shows are now part of a 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:31.040 global community and a twenty billion dollar market that's even 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:34.440 more robust internationally than it is in Japan. Perhaps no 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:38.160 company better exemplifies that transformation than Crunchy Role. The Sony 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:41.920 owned an anime focused subscription streaming platform which has long 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:45.559 been a go to destination for watching Japanese animation stateside. 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.559 Since launching is essentially an anime piracy site in the 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.400 mid two thousands, Crunchy Role has grown into a legitimate 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:55.480 anime powerhouse, with streaming, theatrical and live events businesses under 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:58.680 its umbrella. Sony acquired the company for one point two 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:01.840 billion dollars in twenty twenty one, and since then, Crunchy 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.480 Role has continued to grow under the leadership of its president, 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:07.920 Rahul Parini, who has overseen robust expansion of Crunchy Role 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:11.520 into new markets and opportunities. Parini is passionate about the 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:14.520 anime business, as you'll see, and has even bigger plans 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:17.120 in store for what was once a tiny platform where 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:20.520 users would catch fans subtitled episodes of Naruto and Dragon Ball. 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:23.720 Our wide ranging conversation is coming up after the break, 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:34.640 we are back with Rahul Parini, the president of Crunchy Role. 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.080 Welcome, Thank you, dyler, thank you for me having me here. 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:39.520 Looking forward to. 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:42.840 This, Yeah, me too. So, just to start off, can 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:45.119 you tell us a little bit about Crunchy Role and 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:45.960 your role there. 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:50.240 Yeah, Cunchyroll is a media and entertainment company focused on 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:56.200 Japanese anime. Anime is a dynamic storytelling format. It's a 0:01:56.400 --> 0:02:02.320 medium that comes out of Japan and fans globally love it. 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:07.400 And we are part of Sony Pictures Entertainment and I'm 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.280 president of Country Roll. I've been part of this organization 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:15.200 for about nine years. And yeah, it's a amazing medium 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:17.840 and fan base that we get to serve. Yeah. 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:20.639 Now, a big part of your business is bringing over 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:24.200 these anime series from Japan to the United States market. 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:26.160 For those who may not know, can you tell us 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:28.120 a little bit about what does that process look like 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:29.560 from a business perspective. 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:33.440 Yeah, like you said, most of anime is conceived and 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:37.040 created in Japan, and what we are focused on is 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:41.000 taking those amazing stories from Japanese creators and bringing them 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:44.519 to global audiences. So County Role currently operates in about 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:47.880 two hundred countries and territory. So what we do is 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.760 work with our partners in Japan. We take shows that 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.720 they create and try to bring them to fans as 0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:57.320 soon as they are available in Japan. So majority of 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:00.480 our content we work we license from our partners, but 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.840 we are also working closely with our creative partners in 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:07.120 Japan to produce some of the shows. So when those 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:10.080 shows get released in Japan, we take them and we 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.640 subtitled them into ten plus languages, We dub them into 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.400 ten plus languages, and we try to make them available 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:20.640 for our fans globally within an hour of broadcast in Japan. 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:25.520 So it is it is a fast process. There's about 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:28.280 fifty to sixty shows that we are bringing to audience 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.079 every quarter, about two hundred to two hundred and twenty 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:31.679 shows a year. 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:36.920 Wow, and has the Sony acquisition made it any easier 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:39.320 to do business in Japan. Has that affected how you 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:40.560 guys do business over there at all? 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:45.600 Look as Crunchy Role and some of the other companies 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:48.360 that are part of Crunchy Role, like Funimation, We've been 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:51.760 doing this for about twenty five to twenty eight years now. 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:57.800 Funimation was set up originally in the mid nineties and 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:01.960 was focused on bringing anime to the So we have 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:06.720 very long and deep relationships in Japan that we've fostered 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:11.480 and nature for a long time. But yeah, we Fundimation 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.680 was acquired by Sony Pictures in twenty seventeen, and then 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:19.599 we acquired County Role in twenty twenty one. Sony, as 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:24.320 a Japanese company, has a deep, long relationship with the 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:28.279 anime community, and so us being part of Sony definitely helps. 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:33.279 It gives us a level of credibility. Being being owned 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:35.880 by a Japanese company that has been in the anime 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.800 ecosystem and has supported the ecosystem for a long time 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:43.440 gives us a level of credibility. But our relationships are 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:47.360 also a long, long term relationship, so both of those help. 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:49.040 Yeah, yeah, for sure. 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:50.279 I'm curious. 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:52.159 Could you talk a little more about how the anime 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:55.080 business has changed in the time that you've been involved 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:57.560 with it. Obviously you were at Fundamation, you were heavily 0:04:57.560 --> 0:04:59.920 involved with that before taking over as president of Country. 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:02.960 You know, how has the business of anime and also 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:05.920 the culture around anime changed, you know, since you've been 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:06.760 involved with it. 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.560 Yeah. Look, I think both the business of anime and 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:14.159 the impact of anime on the culture itself has been 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.320 has been massive over the last nine years I've been 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:22.360 part of this business. So the popularity of anime has 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:28.559 been growing really fast globally, and that combined with the 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:33.920 adoption of streaming and the accessibility of anime globally, has 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:39.960 made anime reach a huge number of fans. That combined 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:48.960 with if you think about who defines culture in our world, artists, taste, 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:55.400 makers of fashion, celebrity sports, personalities and all of a 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.680 lot of them talk about the impact of anime on 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:01.880 who they are and how they approach their craft or 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:06.960 who they are as a person. So in that sense, 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:10.120 anime has had a huge impact on the culture and 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:12.400 continues to have a huge impact on the culture. 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:17.240 Yeah, and also obviously it's expanded a lot. You know, 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:19.800 it was very much this looked at as this kind 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.720 of niche market for such a long time. You know, 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.040 what has it been like to see anime grow into 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:27.640 such a huge international business? I believe now like the 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:30.840 international market is bigger than the market for it in Japan, right. 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.640 Yeah, for the first time about a year ago, the 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:39.119 business done outside of Japan is larger than the anime 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:42.719 business within Japan. So absolutely, all right, it's seen a 0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:46.240 huge growth internationally. Like Look, as you would probably expect 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:49.080 me to say, we don't consider anime to be a niche, 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:52.000 and if it is a niche, it is a gigantic niche. 0:06:52.880 --> 0:06:56.280 We have data and research that shows that there's about 0:06:56.320 --> 0:07:01.040 eight hundred million anime interested fans globe outside of Japan 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:04.320 and China, we have over close to two hundred million 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:10.400 people watching anime on official sources in those regions. Netflix 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:14.120 released a couple of years ago that at least half 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:17.280 of their subscription base washed anime during that period, so 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:20.400 that's more than one hundred million plus, So it is 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:23.560 it is huge in numbers. There's it's a big community. 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:29.240 Like Polygon just released some data from their research that 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:35.600 showed that forty two percent of gen Z watches anime weekly, 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.800 which is more than some juggernauts in media like NFL. 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:42.840 It's only twenty five percent of gen z watch, right, 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:47.400 So all of that to say, it's no longer a niche. 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:52.400 It is a its mainstream, it's really popular and it 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:58.040 continues to grow, right Like, so we're excited. I think 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.280 we expected to grow to be much bigger. 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:06.520 Yeah, yeah, for sure. I'm curious about how you're expanding, 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.880 you know, both Crunchy roles as a subscription streaming platform, 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.880 but also kind of as a broader flywheel. Can you 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.960 talk about some of the areas where you're growing the business. 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:21.400 Yeah. So internally we say we don't want to be 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.560 something for everyone. We want to be everything for someone, 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.200 and that someone for us, is the anime fan. So 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:31.680 our mission is to surround the anime fan and service 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:35.040 them across their fandom. So we want to create amazing 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:38.720 experience where however they want to exhibit their fandom. And 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:44.040 so obviously streaming and our subscription service is a huge 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:47.480 touch point for us with our fans, and it is 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:51.760 it makes anime accessible for fans worldwide, and so it's 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:55.600 a really important piece in our connection with the fans. 0:08:56.600 --> 0:09:00.880 Theatrical is another important piece of anime fans love to 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:03.800 watch movies on the big screen with their friends and family, 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:09.400 see these amazing visuals on a big screen, and we 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.760 are we continue to lean into bringing more movies for 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:15.880 our fans globally. At the same time, we also have 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:21.080 games that are based on anime anime IP anime shows 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:24.520 and that's something that we are continuing to invest in 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:28.679 and lean into. E Commerce is another channel, so fans 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:34.360 as they want to collect figures or other memorabilia from 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:38.640 their favorite shows or buy apparel to where to demonstrate 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:41.640 their fandom, we give them opportunity to do that on 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:45.520 our store, on our e commerce shop and similar lyric 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.680 whether it's consumer product, goods or events. We try to 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.840 serve the fans however they want to exhibit their fandom, 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:56.840 and look, we are seeing growth across all of those channels. 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:02.560 Fans truly want to demonstrate their fandom. However, they can 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:07.600 essentially literally where their fandom on their sleeve. So it's 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:11.120 amazing to see these fans connect with those characters and 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:12.360 show their fandom how they do. 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:15.920 Yeah, now do you think kind of all those different 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:19.839 revenue streams and opportunities to kind of bring people into 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:22.319 the ecosystem. Do you think that has helped you guys 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.080 kind of avoid some of the pitfalls that the broader 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:27.319 streaming landscape has seen over the last couple of years. 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:31.920 Look, look, I think the flywheel strategy, as you say, 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:36.040 having these mix of touch points with fans has definitely 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:40.120 been a differentiator for us. It's been a strategic priority. 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:45.160 We know it has helped us connect with fans and 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:50.640 have a longer term connection and relationship with our fans 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:56.640 because of that approach, it has helped us address some 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:01.640 of our retention and churn churned goals, which are major 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:05.880 factors for most of streaming platforms. So yes, that the 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:09.600 approach has definitely been a differentiator for us and continues 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:14.720 to allow us to expand or reach with fans. Yeah. 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:18.560 Yeah, tell us a little bit more about your audience 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:20.920 maybe from the streaming perspective. You know, how do you 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:23.760 describe your subscribers in terms of their viewing habits, their 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:27.160 behavior in terms of churn and other patterns. 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:30.760 Like I said, anime is a very dynamic medium and 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:35.199 there is something for every fan In anime, there's multiple 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:39.280 genres and so there is something for everyone. Our research 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:42.520 shows that there is everybody from gen Z and Gen 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:47.480 Alpha two boomers who are watching anime. But in general, 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.720 anime fans tend to be young. Like I said, forty 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:53.800 two percent of gen Z watch weekly. There's another twenty 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:57.000 five percent of millennials that watch weekly, So the anime 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:00.760 fans tend to be younger. They are also very diverse. 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:05.960 African American, Hispanic and Asian American fans tend to over 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:10.360 index then general population within the fan community anime fan community, 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:15.120 so they are very diverse. There again to the question 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:21.120 around their watch patterns and behavior, highly engaged, very passionate. 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:24.479 They like to watch shows as soon as they're available, 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:28.280 so it's not surprising for us to see a large 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:31.960 spike in fans streaming at two am in the morning 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:37.760 when their favorite show just launches. That's very typical. Again, 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:40.680 like I said, they're very engaged. So on average we 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:44.840 see thousand minutes a month, and that's the average across 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:46.840 the globe. And you know there are fans that are 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:52.080 watching twenty plus hours every week, so it is a 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:58.120 very engaged fan base in terms of patterns and viewing behaviors. 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:01.720 There's a lot of similarity in fans across the globe 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.560 and how they watch and what they watch. But there's 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:08.800 also a lot of differences, right. For example, fans in 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:12.360 India love to watch action and adventure and fantasy shows, 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:17.120 whereas fans in France are more open to art house 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:18.520 and experimental shows. 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:21.800 So that happens in France often. 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:25.920 I think they're definitely more open to that kind of thing. 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:28.960 And we see similar things across the world, whether it 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:31.800 is Latin America or the US, and that's what makes 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.839 this fun, right, Like, we we get to serve a 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:39.840 very similar but audience that has very unique tastes across 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:40.240 the world. 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:43.720 Yeah, you mentioned India. I know you. You personally have 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:47.680 really spearheaded a big expansion for country role in India. 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:51.520 He tells about why that market specifically and what those 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:53.080 expansion plans look like over there. 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:59.560 Yeah. So India is the second largest anime market in 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:03.200 terms of anime interest and anime watching outside of Japan 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:08.080 and China. Only US has more anime interested fans in 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:13.200 terms of true numbers absolute numbers outside of India, And 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:16.040 for US it was a white space. We weren't there. 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.840 There weren't many players serving that audience, so there was 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:23.640 a real demand for anime in that community. There were 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:28.240 there fans were eager to get an official service to 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:31.720 UH serve them, serve them, and so we took that 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:35.480 opportunity to be there and serve that audience in India. 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.400 Like you said, we announced a big push about a 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:43.960 year and a half ago, we launched our service with 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:49.520 a catalog focused on that. We announced localization efforts where 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:53.320 we started not only sub subtitling into several languages in India, 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:57.400 but also dubbing our shows into Hindi, Telugu and Tamil 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.640 and all of those have been very well received in 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:04.120 the market, and I think our plans continue to do 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:08.120 more things like that, like we are making more content 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:14.000 available for our fans simultaneously with other across the global 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:19.320 our global service, we are trying to localize more content 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:23.280 to that to different parts of India. As you know, 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:27.200 there's a lot of multiple languages in India and fans 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:31.160 like to watch dubbed shows dubbed into their own language, 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:36.320 so we're trying to localize more content. We also have 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:41.080 announced a partnership with a couple of fairly popular Bollywood 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:45.240 celebrities that are really big anime fans. Tiger schaff and 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:51.600 Rushimi Kamandana, who who are really big advocates and big 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:54.640 fans of anime, and we've partnered with them to bring 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:59.480 Crunchy Role and more anime to fans in India. Very cool. 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.640 You know you mentioned piracy, which I think is so 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:06.760 tied up in the history of anime's global expansion. You know, 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.800 like US fans used to have to had basically no 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:13.320 recourse but piracy to find some of these shows. What 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:16.320 strategies I think? You also mentioned the statistic that like, 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.160 there's eight hundred million anime fans worldwide, but only two 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:22.920 hundred million are watching on legitimate sources. Obviously, it's it's 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.960 one thing to expand into a place like India where 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:30.520 there is no legal avenue to watch these shows, but 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:35.400 how are you combating and fighting piracy in markets where 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:37.200 the legitimate sources is already available. 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:43.800 Yeah. Look, piracy and an official sources of anime is 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:50.240 a big component of anime watching for fans globally. Anime 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:53.000 has been popular for a long time, but fans weren't 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:56.800 able to access it until recently when streaming became a 0:16:56.920 --> 0:17:01.840 really viable option for fans. So piracy was the way 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.439 where fans were watching these shows. For a long time. 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:08.840 From our perspective, what we are focused on is convenience 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:13.199 for fans. We want to make a service that is convenient, 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:16.160 that gives the fans the ability to watch their favorite 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.800 shows as soon as they watch however they want to 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:22.399 watch it, whether it is subtitled into their favorite language, 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:26.120 dubbed into their favorite language, on their favorite device, whether 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:30.000 it is mobile or gaming console or a smart TV, 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:35.520 and however they want to structure the experience. So our 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:39.400 focus is on making this content available as soon as 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:43.200 possible in whatever language they want, and as convenient as 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.719 possible at a very comparative price. And we believe that 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:49.119 is the strategy that is going to allow us to 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:54.080 make this much more compelling and attractive to fans. To 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.000 switch to an official source rather than using an official 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.160 sources is. 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:03.680 Kind of expanding ways to kind of funnel people into 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:05.960 that also part of that, I know last year you 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:08.440 guys expanded into the fast space, which is to say, 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:12.360 free ad supported streaming. What are some of the opportunities there, 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:14.399 and is that you know, another way to kind of 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.080 reel people in who might not other way otherwise be there. 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:20.840 Yeah, last year we announced that we were launching a 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:27.320 twenty four seven ADS supported linear channel. It's available on 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:32.879 most Fast platforms in the US now. Recently it also 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:37.679 was made available on Pluto TV, and our strategy and 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:42.080 approach with that is to make this content and anime 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:45.080 available to casual anime fans where they are. As you know, 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:51.200 Fast is a really emerging sizeable distribution channel to reach audience, 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:55.359 and so we want to tap into that distribution mechanism 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:58.240 to be able to put anime in front of fans 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:01.600 in a curated way that we can introduce it to them, 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:06.720 allow them to experience it in a quick, easy way, 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:10.760 and if then they want a deeper connection or deeper experience, 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:13.320 they can come to Country Roll for that deeper experience. 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:17.200 And that's the that's the strategy. So we're seeing we're 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:22.000 seeing fans engage with our Fast channel really really well 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:24.879 on those platforms, and we're excited to see what we 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:27.280 can do more and how we can attract them into 0:19:27.280 --> 0:19:28.639 our ecosystem. Yeah. 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:31.199 Yeah, it's maybe easier to just catch an episode of 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:33.240 Cowboy Bebop or something and be like, oh, that looks cool. 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:36.200 What is that rather than just seeing this huge array 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:39.080 of you know, posters in front of you, it'd be like, 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:39.960 which one do I pick? 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:43.399 Yeah? Like, look, I think like with any streaming service, 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:49.080 there is so much content. Consumers have a hard time 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:52.040 with discovery, right, and it's the same thing with anime. 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:56.160 We have a lot of shows, a lot of different genres, 0:19:56.960 --> 0:20:01.399 and I think our idea is with a fast channel, 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.159 we can curate an experience that makes it easy and 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:07.080 convenient for fans to get in and try this, and 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:09.920 if they like it, they can go have a deeper 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:11.879 experience within our subscription service. 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:14.879 Yeah, yeah, for sure, to talk a little bit more 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:20.240 about that subscription business. You know, I'm curious, you know, 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:22.159 as you said, obviously, if anime is a niche, it's 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:24.560 a very large niche. But how do you view the 0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:28.920 position of streamers like crunchy Role that serve a particular 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:33.000 specific interest in this media landscape where you know, companies 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:35.480 only seem to get bigger and business modelsers seem to 0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:37.919 be more about offering all things to all people. You know, 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:40.800 how do you see you know, platforms like crunchy Roll 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:42.240 kind of fitting into the landscape like that. 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:47.840 Like I said earlier, we're trying to be everything for someone, right, 0:20:48.800 --> 0:20:53.400 and that focus gives us an advantage. We know we're 0:20:53.400 --> 0:20:57.639 not going to be the first subscription service for a 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:01.119 consumer or a household. What we are trying to be 0:21:01.359 --> 0:21:04.560 is that second or third subscription service. So if you're 0:21:04.560 --> 0:21:07.960 an anime fan, we want to add so much value 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:11.160 that we would be that second subscription service or third 0:21:11.160 --> 0:21:15.440 subscription service. So from that perspective, we're not really competing 0:21:15.520 --> 0:21:19.720 with a general entertainment service because we know our fans 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:23.040 will have a general entertainment service as an option because 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:28.440 where they get their entertainment, but they come to us 0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:33.400 for their anime connection, right, And so that that focus 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:37.159 and that clarity in terms of where we fit in 0:21:37.200 --> 0:21:44.600 our fans entertainment ecosystem gives tells us that we're not 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:47.639 we're not really competing for the same thing as a 0:21:47.640 --> 0:21:49.520 general entertainment services. 0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:53.040 Yeah, it's interesting though, like those general entertainment services are 0:21:53.080 --> 0:21:55.160 starting to move more into the anime space. I mean, 0:21:55.160 --> 0:21:58.879 Netflix has for a long time been putting more animations 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:01.760 on this platform. It feels like as that market continues 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:04.280 to expand, you'll see more companies like Disney trying to 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:07.240 get into that. You know, how do you see that 0:22:07.520 --> 0:22:12.520 is there an opportunity there with general entertainment services getting 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:14.320 more into anime, is there an opportunity for you guys 0:22:14.400 --> 0:22:17.560 or is that just going to create more competition for titles. 0:22:17.800 --> 0:22:22.760 Yeah, look, there is definitely an interest to serve this 0:22:23.080 --> 0:22:27.000 fan base. As this fan base gross, general entertainment companies 0:22:27.119 --> 0:22:32.320 have worked hard to find content to serve them. So, yes, 0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:36.280 we compete for content with all of those players, but 0:22:37.480 --> 0:22:41.399 we think it is good for anime and anime community 0:22:42.000 --> 0:22:46.200 that these large services have anime content and make them 0:22:46.240 --> 0:22:52.719 available to large sets of audience. Right because if somebody 0:22:52.760 --> 0:22:56.520 gets introduced to anime and they want a deeper or 0:22:56.560 --> 0:23:00.280 a broader experience, then they come to a CERT's like 0:23:00.320 --> 0:23:03.399 crunch Role for that broader experience. So we believe it 0:23:03.480 --> 0:23:07.560 is actually good for anime and anime community that these 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:11.400 services offer some anime and are introducing anime to fans. 0:23:13.359 --> 0:23:17.280 I think overall it is good and I think those 0:23:17.320 --> 0:23:21.440 fans that want that deeper experience will then come to crunturrole. 0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:25.320 We work with some of these general entertainment services. We've 0:23:25.359 --> 0:23:28.440 had we've licensed content to some of them. We've licensed 0:23:28.440 --> 0:23:32.720 content to linear channels like Cartoon Network because we know 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:35.000 our fans are there, and if we can get them 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:40.439 to experience a show or experience anime, then some of 0:23:40.480 --> 0:23:44.200 them will become anime fans and come to Crunch role. Yeah. 0:23:44.240 --> 0:23:46.200 I was going to ask about that because licensing TV 0:23:46.280 --> 0:23:48.280 shows is really back in vogue now. You know, you're 0:23:48.280 --> 0:23:52.400 seeing all these companies loan out more titles to Netflix. Obviously, 0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:56.080 Sony County Rule's parent never really stopped playing in that space. 0:23:56.400 --> 0:23:57.919 There's been a lot written about them as a kind 0:23:57.960 --> 0:24:01.760 of a content arms dealer. Do you see you guys 0:24:01.800 --> 0:24:05.040 expanding that strategy or how robust is that strategy for 0:24:05.080 --> 0:24:05.760 you guys already? 0:24:05.920 --> 0:24:08.640 Yeah, Like, like you said, it is back in work, 0:24:08.720 --> 0:24:10.520 but it is something that we've been doing for a 0:24:10.560 --> 0:24:15.119 long time, right. We want to we want to attract fans, 0:24:15.440 --> 0:24:17.639 meet fans where they are, and attract them into our 0:24:17.680 --> 0:24:21.720 ecosystem from that touch point. So we've been doing this 0:24:21.800 --> 0:24:24.840 for a while. Like I mentioned, we've licensed content to 0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:29.400 streaming services and OTT platforms as well as linear networks 0:24:29.400 --> 0:24:34.439 as well, because if as fans experience that anime, we 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:36.760 know that they will come to us for a deeper experience. 0:24:37.560 --> 0:24:42.920 It continues to be a very strategic and intentional approach 0:24:42.960 --> 0:24:46.920 for us, We do look at how much content at 0:24:46.960 --> 0:24:50.439 what window and when to license and how that would 0:24:50.480 --> 0:24:54.520 then allow us to connect with a new group of 0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:57.280 fans and how to bring them back into our ecosystem. 0:24:57.640 --> 0:25:00.960 So it is a priority, is something that we do 0:25:01.160 --> 0:25:03.000 very intentionally in a strategic way. 0:25:03.640 --> 0:25:06.600 Yeah, what do you think of this trend of these 0:25:06.640 --> 0:25:09.520