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Viewster Closes Omakase Subscription Box Service
posted on by Karen Ressler
Viewster Inc. CEO Rob Pereyda announced in an e-mail sent to business partners on Monday that Viewster is closing its Omakase subscription box service at the end of March. The e-mail cites the numbers "not scaling at the level or on the timeline that Viewster AG had hoped for" as the reason for the closure. The company determined that its consumers tended to want either the box or the streaming service, but not both.
The statement further notes that the service's third box, themed around Hatsune Miku, will still go through. Those who order a box by the deadline on March 23 at midnight will receive it.
Viewster is currently exploring options to continue the Omakase service under a different ownership structure. Failing that, Viewster Inc., Viewster's Los Angeles-based office, will close at the end of the month.
Confidential sources informed ANN that there were attempts to sell Omakase to third party companies, as well as find new investors, but ultimately no deals could be agreed upon between potential buyers/investors and Viewster.
Viewster launched Omakase in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in August as a service that would offer both streaming video via Viewster's website and a merchandise box once every two months. The first two boxes were themed around Kill la Kill and Naruto.
Viewster's head office is in Zurich, Switzerland, but it also has a branch office in Germany. The company was founded in 2007. The free streaming site is supported by advertising and has more than 10,000 titles in its catalog across anime, thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy.
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