Viki (streaming service)
Type of business | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Type of site | OTT media service |
Available in | English |
Founded | 2007 |
Headquarters | San Mateo, California, U.S. |
Country of origin | United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Founder(s) |
|
Products | |
Parent | Rakuten |
URL | www |
Advertising | Supported |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | December 2010 |
Rakuten Viki is an American
The name Viki is a
History
2007–2012; Early history
Viki was founded in 2007 by Razmig Hovaghimian, Changseong Ho and Jiwon Moon.[5] Funding for the company originally came from Neoteny Labs, a Singapore start-up fund headed by Joichi Ito, and from the co-founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman.[6]
The company moved to Singapore in 2008 to take advantage of government backing and the
In September 2011, Viki debuted a new iPhone app called Viki On-The-Go, allowing users to watch content on their smartphones. The company also partnered with Samsung Southeast Asia that year to develop an Android app.[8][9] Viki.com drew 14 million unique views in August 2011. Viki raised $20 million from Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and BBC Worldwide in October of that year.[6][7][9]
In May 2012, Viki announced deals with
In July 2012, Viki inked a non-exclusive deal with the Chinese social network Renren, in which Viki would provide a video site for the social network called VikiZone.[9] The deal includes only a portion of the Viki catalog and is offered for free.[11]
2013–present; Purchase by Rakuten
In the year following its acquisition by
The company has a list of partners for sourcing original content, including BBC Worldwide. The company has also signed distribution deals for its original content with Hulu, Netflix, Yahoo!,
Services
Viki streams premium licensed
Original programming
Viki has more than 100 original programs, including entertainment shows, drama and mini-series.[18]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
- Dramaworld (2016)
- Where Your Eyes Linger (2020)
- Light on Me (2021)
References
- ^ a b c Holmes, Sam (2011). "Singapore Start-up Sees Gold Mine In Foreign Language TV". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ Viki Office Tour - Coolest Places in Singapore: Episode 1 (January 28). 2014. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Klinge, Naomi (July 22, 2020). "Watch parties and K-pop. How San Mateo streamer Rakuten Viki is growing in a pandemic". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ Rao, Leena (2011). "Congratulations Crunchies Winners! Twitter Takes Best Startup of 2010". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ a b Bertschy, Zac (2012). "Interview: Razmig Hovaghimian, Cofounder and CEO of Viki.com". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ a b Holmes, Sam (2012). "Breaking Down Language Barriers - WSJ". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- ^ a b Lacy, Sarah (2010). "ViKi Raises $4.3 Million from VC All-Stars to Translate the World's Video". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ a b c Rao, Leena (2011). "International Video Site ViKi Debuts iPhone App, Will Partner With Samsung For Android App". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ Fast Company. Archivedfrom the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ Russell, Jon (2012). "Global Music Site Viki Moves into Music After Signing up Record Labels". The Next Web. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (2012). "Viki Climbs The Great Firewall, Signs With 'China's Facebook' Renren For Its First Video Distribution Deal In The Country". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ Swisher, Kara (2013). "Exclusive: Japan's Rakuten Acquires Viki Video Site for $200 Million". AllThingsD. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- ^ Corbin, David (2015). "Razming Hovaghimian, founder of Viki, out as CEO, to lead Rakuten's global video strategy". Tech in Asia. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- ^ "Rakuten Viki". www.viki.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ "Rakuten Viki Terms of Use Section 8.3.2". www.viki.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ Bates, Greg (2012). "Viki Video: 1 Billion Videos in 150 languages Means Never Having to Say Rerun". Programmable Web. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ Park, Madison (2014). "Can Fans Unravel the Babel of the World's Dramas?". CNN. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- ^ MacDonald, Joan (May 19, 2021). "Rakuten Viki's Slate Of Original Productions Continues To Grow". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.