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NTT, Kadokawa to Stream Flat-Rate Anime to Japanese Phones
posted on by Ko Ransom
Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo announced this week that it will partner with publisher Kadokawa Shoten to begin offering a flat-rate anime streaming service for smartphones and tablet users through the new "Docomo Anime Store" joint venture. The service will cost 420 yen (about US$5.25) a month for subscribers to NTT Docomo's "sp-mode" service, and will offer access to 10,000 episodes of anime from 500 titles, as well as other anime-related content. (Some titles will require separate charges.) Docomo will own 60 percent of the venture, and Kadokawa Shoten will own the remaining 40 percent. The venture will have 20 employees at first, and 1 billion yen (about US$12.45 million) in capital stock as well as another 1 billion yen in capital reserves.
Docomo Anime Store will also be involved in the anime rights and licensing business, the planning and sales of anime goods, and the overseas expansion of its services. Plans to offer the service to users of non-NTT Docomo mobile services are also being considered. The press conference announcing the service listed The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fullmetal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion, K-ON!, Lupin III, and more.
Sources: 4-Traders, Anime! Anime! Biz, Gigazine
