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NEWS: Funimation, Milyoni Launch Anime Streaming Platform on Facebook


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jsc315



Joined: 09 Aug 2004
Posts: 925
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 4:16 pm Reply with quote
I like the idea of this and the price format is right on for digital media. I'll give Funi the benefit of the doubt for that at least. They are also trying something new and a place were just about everyone on the internet is now these days.

With that said I don't see Facebook the place to watch anime or movies in general. It like Youtube renting movies. The quality is pretty low and the selection is sub-par at best. I wish them the best of luck in this working for them. They do have the right idea in using facebook and trying to gain a bigger audience in paying for media.
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krystallinity



Joined: 11 Oct 2010
Posts: 21
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 4:45 pm Reply with quote
I agree that Facebook is not the right platform for Anime.

Let's look at the statistics.

Facebook is regularly used by around 800 million people around the world.

A tiny fraction of those 800 million regular users like Anime (~3.2 million).

A tiny fraction of those 3.2 million Facebook users who like Anime, are inclined to purchase Anime (~500,000).

A tiny fraction of those 500,000 inclined Anime purchasers on Facebook rent Anime instead of streaming / pirating / buying the DVDs or Blu-rays (~10,000 or less).

A tiny fraction of those 10,000 Anime renters would choose to rent it on a social media dominated platform instead of other established methods that they're used to (~1,000 or less).

So Funimation is basically appealing to an audience of 1,000 people or less worldwide...niche to the extreme, and many of those 1,000 people may not even know or care about it.

I really don't see why they decided to go about this, considering they're aiming at such a small potential audience.

Facebook, guys? Really?
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Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 5:23 pm Reply with quote
"We were going full speed ahead... but facing backwards the whole time."

And you know what? This isn't even the worst plan I've heard all day
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 5:25 pm Reply with quote
I thought Facebook had some pretty severe content restrictions.. or is it because the content is treated separately and not part of the app

Anyways, I will be surprised if this will be more of a success than the Youtube rentals. What is unappealing to me is the very limited time frame of 2 days. Plus after two rentals of $3.99 for the biggest bundle presumably, or just four days, you're better off with their monthly subscription. It even comes close to the SAVE releases

IMO an alternative system that might be workable for occasional viewers would be bundles that have limited viewings (maybe 2 or 3) but much longer time frames, like 1 month.
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agila61



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Posts: 3213
Location: NE Ohio
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 5:51 pm Reply with quote
krystallinity wrote:
I agree that Facebook is not the right platform for Anime.

Let's look at the statistics.

Facebook is regularly used by around 800 million people around the world.

A tiny fraction of those 800 million regular users like Anime (~3.2 million).

A tiny fraction of those 3.2 million Facebook users who like Anime, are inclined to purchase Anime (~500,000).

A tiny fraction of those 500,000 inclined Anime purchasers on Facebook rent Anime instead of streaming / pirating / buying the DVDs or Blu-rays (~10,000 or less).

And further, none of those people rent it on Facebook. It isn't done so it can't be done, Q.E.D.

Quote:
A tiny fraction of those 10,000 Anime renters would choose to rent it on a social media dominated platform instead of other established methods that they're used to (~1,000 or less).

Precisely. Assuming that there is nobody among the 800 million regular users of Facebook who does not presently rent at some other site who might be interested in renting on Facebook, the move makes no sense.

Of course, they do not have to assume, they have the opportunity to pursue market research and find out. However, clearly, if they did market research and discovered that there was some number of anime fans who are Facebook users and who would be interested in renting on Facebook at the right price ...
... it means that they were deceived, because, hey, we got an assumption here in an ANN forum, so that trumps market research.
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ScruffyKiwi



Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 672
Location: New Zealand
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 6:04 pm Reply with quote
agila61 wrote:

Of course, they do not have to assume, they have the opportunity to pursue market research and find out. However, clearly, if they did market research and discovered that there was some number of anime fans who are Facebook users and who would be interested in renting on Facebook at the right price ...
... it means that they were deceived, because, hey, we got an assumption here in an ANN forum, so that trumps market research.


This comment makes me wish I was on facebook so I could click on the like button Smile)
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23667
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 6:33 pm Reply with quote
Not something that personally interests me, but if it manages to hook some peeps who may otherwise not have become exposed to anime, I'm all for it. The more portals, the more chance people will squirm through one.
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agila61



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Posts: 3213
Location: NE Ohio
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 6:53 pm Reply with quote
configspace wrote:
...
Anyways, I will be surprised if this will be more of a success than the Youtube rentals. What is unappealing to me is the very limited time frame of 2 days. Plus after two rentals of $3.99 for the biggest bundle presumably, or just four days, you're better off with their monthly subscription. It even comes close to the SAVE releases
...

I'd think the type of releases that they put out as SAVE release ... that is, licenses near the end of their term that are not going to be renewed ... they'd be the ones that are $0.99 for a pack.

What would kill me would be the short time rental. Sometimes I marathon, but it would really suck if I rented 4 episodes, finished 3, got pulled away by something else ... and then when I got back to it, it was expired.

I'd be far more likely to rent if it was the price for the set of rentals, but the clock did not start ticking on an episode until you start watching it.

Also, I don't see FUNimation being unhappy if some people after using the service for a while decide that its cheaper to get a subscription ~ that would boost their subscriber base.
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Mr. sickVisionz



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 2171
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:21 pm Reply with quote
This would be cooler to me if it

* had free videos
* had the Hulu think where you link to specific in and out points of a video
* had NicoNico-like comments that you could add and
* was embedable on more than Facebook

Then you could link specifically to a part you thought was funny or interesting, write a comment, and post in your wall for your friends to check out and share with everyone.

On a sidenote, I think its funny that people seem confused and baffled that Funimation wants to tap into a marketplace that serves nearly a billion active users.


Last edited by Mr. sickVisionz on Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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NotintheMood



Joined: 11 Feb 2012
Posts: 36
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:50 pm Reply with quote
Another Facebook App to spam my newsfeed?

....
swell.
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ARC-1300



Joined: 06 Feb 2012
Posts: 360
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:30 pm Reply with quote
So i thought over in my head, and how much would it cost them to do something like this? Not much i imagine, so why not? More power to them, its a huge social site. People are putting more emphasis on what they want instead of focusing on the bigger picture.
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krystallinity



Joined: 11 Oct 2010
Posts: 21
PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:51 pm Reply with quote
ScruffyKiwi wrote:
agila61 wrote:

Of course, they do not have to assume, they have the opportunity to pursue market research and find out. However, clearly, if they did market research and discovered that there was some number of anime fans who are Facebook users and who would be interested in renting on Facebook at the right price ...
... it means that they were deceived, because, hey, we got an assumption here in an ANN forum, so that trumps market research.


This comment makes me wish I was on facebook so I could click on the like button Smile)


All right then...I'll watch as Funimation dazzles me with the fruits of their profound "market research."

If this plan turns out to be a success I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I have my doubts, regardless if Funimation has "good reasons" for pursuing such a venture.
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reanimator





PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:10 am Reply with quote
If Funimation is trying to reach out to more audience outside of usual fan circles, then more power to them. Sometimes, it's better to find new audience when relying solely on core fans doesn't help much.

People here have expressed with negative remarks, but at least they're doing something. None of us run anime distribution business, so we don't know how well their market research works or not.
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 6248
Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 12:34 pm Reply with quote
I don't know if this is going to help bring new fans, but good luck to Funi for this idea.
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Daimao Raki



Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 593
Location: Dark Side of the Moon
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:14 pm Reply with quote
From what I know, there are a good deal of anime fans on Facebook. I applaud Funimation for trying to expand their reach and wish them the best. The negativity posted so far is killing me lol.
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