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Nozomi Launches YouTube Channel
By
Chris Beveridge
July 16, 2010
Irresponsible Captain Tylor Lithograph
© Nozomi Entertainment
Nozomi Entertainment is the latest anime publisher to set up a YouTube channel as they've launched their Nozomi Channel late this week. The channel is starting off with dubbed episodes of the Irresponsible Captain Tylor, a continual strong title from the company that they've had for many, many years, and the launch of it with a nod towards dub fandom is definitely welcome since so much focus is on subtitled simulcasts these days. Even better is that Nozomi is actually providing a schedule, for at least the first few episodes, so you know when to expect more content to drop.
We sat down with Alison Roberts, who spends some of her time on the @AnimeToday twitter feed as well, and went through a few questions about their plans for the service.
With numerous streaming services out there, what brought you to using YouTube and will you branch out to other ones in the future?
YouTube was a *logical* place for us to start. We've had an active YouTube channel for a little over two years now, and it's already fully integrated into all of our marketing programs and sites.
Also, we've had the chance to observe how the fans have received other publishers' streaming efforts. Every time a new show is put online, one of the biggest questions is, "Can I watch the show in my territory?" Since we do (effectively) hold the English-language translation rights for several of our series, we felt it was important to have that option as a possibility, and YouTube provided this function. So, for example, Tylor TV -- our first streaming series -- can be viewed by fans in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
This is something that will vary from property to property, but again, when our license arrangements allow for this, we want to provide this service.
We are currently pursuing arrangements with other streaming venues, in addition to the sites we already work with (like Otaku USA's site), and this really is just the beginning.
(Readers: If you have preferences re: where else you'd like to see us next, please speak up in the comments!)
Launching with the episodes of the Irresponsible Captain Tylor seems wholly appropriate considering it's one of the older titles that you have. What other shows might we see and will the be put up using both dubs and subs?
We view the streaming services as a video-on-demand alternative to a television broadcast – this will be reflected in our programming schedule – and our entire streaming program is closely tied into our promotions for each title we feature.
Tylor is one of our "signature" series, and we released the remastered box sets last year, so it was the perfect title to kick-start the program. Similar thought processes went into deciding which other titles we'll "streamcast" this fall.
You'll find some classic Right Stuf/Nozomi titles, in addition to recent and new titles -- including some series fans have already specifically asked us about streaming or putting on TV.
There are several ways you'll be able to keep track of which shows will be streaming. In addition to subscribing to the YouTube channel, we also have a streaming schedule linked from the channel and on the Nozomi site, and we will be posting update notices on Facebook, Twitter, series sites and the channel itself.
Whether we put up the dub, sub or both will depend on the show, how it was released on DVD, whether or not we have pre-existing TV masters for the series, and which other shows are scheduled to stream alongside it.
Most services tend to focus on bringing out the subtitled episodes in order to stem the tide of piracy, but Nozomi has kicked it off with dubs, which are seen as the premium incentive to get people to buy. What's the thought behind that?
Most of those services are also, to some degree, handling simulcasting, which is a different part of the lifespan for most of these series. Our focus, for the moment, is on catalog titles and/or titles that are ramping up for DVD and download-to-own video releases.
With regard to your question, as a publisher and online retailer, we're in a unique position: We're able to observe what's working for everyone else. This background goes into our licensing decisions, as well as how we choose to release those licenses.
Rather than viewing dubs as *the* premium incentive to encourage purchase, we view them as *one among several possible* incentives – such as packaging, quality translations and presentation, video extras and physical extras -- that need to be balanced against an item's target price point.
For us and the majority of the fans who purchase Right Stuf/Nozomi titles, it's about the whole package and having the ability to own and have access to a show we and they love.
By offering more fans the ability to legally preview streams of our shows, we hope to introduce them to new favorite series.
Any plans for original works to be created at some point to interact with fans on the channel?
Actually, we already have, as part of the Dirty Pair licensing announcement. It's a possibility, and we have some ideas. Stay tuned!
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...but then Alison woke up from her dream. She sees "THE numbers" of anime views and DVD sales; realizing that she, and Nozomi / Right Stuf, will NEVER be as truly successful as FUNi (for better or for worse).
"If only we didn't horse around and dubbed Emma (and/or Marimite) in English," she thought...
\_(^_^)_/