Viewster

Last updated
Viewster
Viewster logo.svg
Available in English, Spanish, German, French
HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
Area servedglobal
Founder(s) Kai Henniges, Jörg Boksberger
Industry Video on Demand
Parent Cinedigm (2019)
Registrationnot required
Launched2007
Current statusRelaunched as CONtv Anime in 2020

Viewster was a video on demand service that was founded in 2007 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Viewster offered a wide range of ad-supported free TV shows and movies. [1]

Contents

History

Viewster AG was founded in 2007 by Kai Henniges and Jörg Boksberger in Zurich (Switzerland). Viewster had offices in Zurich, London, New York City, Berlin, Adelaide. In 2011 the service was renamed from "Diva" to "Viewster." [2]

Viewster's Video on demand service was available in more than 120 countries. According to third party audits, Viewster reached more than 39 million unique visitors per month [3] and ranked top 10 online video property in the U.S. in August 2014. [4]

In October 2012, Viewster released native iOS and Android applications to make the Video on demand service available on tablets and smartphones. [5]

On February 5, 2019, Viewster was acquired by distributor Cinedigm. [6] The following year, the service was merged into CONtv and rebranded as CONtv Anime on June 13, 2020. [7] [8]

Content

Viewster's catalog included a broad range of TV shows, including anime (some of them as simulcasts in European countries) and Korean dramas. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anime</span> Japanese animation

Anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, anime refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and Japanese, anime describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Many works of animation with a similar style to Japanese animation are also produced outside Japan. Video games sometimes also feature themes and art styles that can be considered as "anime".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animax</span> Japanese anime satellite television network

Animax Broadcast Japan Inc., stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headquartered in New Pier Takeshiba North Tower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan and studios Bandai Namco Filmworks, Toei Animation, TMS Entertainment, and production company Nihon Ad Systems.

Ringier AG is a media group in Switzerland, founded in 1833 in Zofingen and based in Zürich. The current strategy is based not only on media but also on e-commerce and entertainment. It has a yearly income of approximately 1000 million CHF and around 6,400 employees in nineteen countries.

Zattoo is a TV platform which states that it can be used for IP-based transmission of television channels and video on demand content to different devices. The company headquarters are located in Zurich and it has an additional office in Berlin.

Prime Video, or AmazonPrime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced by Amazon MGM Studios or licensed to Amazon, as Amazon Originals, with the service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and video rental and purchasing services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My5</span> Video-on-demand brand name

My5 is the brand name of video-on-demand services offered by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. The service went live on 26 June 2008. It is owned by Paramount Global and operated by their Paramount Networks UK & Australia division.

Internet television in Australia is the digital distribution of movies and television content via the Internet. In Australia, internet television is provided by a number of generalist, subscription-based streaming service providers, in addition to several niche providers that focus on specific genres. Australia's five major free-to-air television networks also all offer catch up TV of previously broadcast content to watch via their webpages and apps, and a number of ISPs and other companies offer IPTV – the live streaming of television channels sourced from Australia and elsewhere.

DramaFever was a video streaming website owned by Warner Bros. that offered on-demand streaming video of documentaries, movies, and TV shows with subtitles. DramaFever's content offering was both ad-supported for regular users and available in high definition for premium subscribers.

A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features that allow users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart TVs are a technological convergence of computers, televisions, and digital media players. Besides the traditional functions of television sets provided through traditional broadcasting media, these devices can provide access to over-the-top media services such as streaming television and internet radio, along with home networking access.

An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms—the mediums through which companies have traditionally acted as controllers or distributors of such content. It has also been used to describe no-carrier cellphones, for which all communications are charged as data, avoiding monopolistic competition, or apps for phones that transmit data in this manner, including both those that replace other call methods and those that update software.

HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media players among other devices.

rara was a music streaming media service. It operated between December 2011 and March 2015. It offered ad-free, on-demand music streaming from a range of major and independent record labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music and Warner Music Group, global rights agency Merlin and independent digital distributors The Orchard, INgrooves Fontana, Believe Digital, [PIAS] and VidZone Digital Media.

<i>Beast Saga</i> Japanese multi-media franchise

Beast Saga is a Japanese multi-media franchise by Takara Tomy that includes a dice game, manga series, an anime television series and a video game for the Nintendo 3DS. It is similar to Takara's earlier Battle Beasts toyline.

Fandor is a division of the American entertainment company Cinedigm. It is a streaming service dedicated to independent films, documentaries, international titles and classics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cineverse</span> American entertainment company

Cineverse Corp. is an American entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Cineverse’s businesses encompass digital cinema, streaming channels, content marketing, and distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SonyLIV</span> Indian video streaming service

SonyLIV is an over-the-top streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it provides live sports, original titles, other content titles from its own networks and content titles in India licensed from third-parties such as Lionsgate and ITV among others. The Sony Liv content library includes films, TV shows, series, and sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Network (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian television channel

WWE Network is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel programmed by WWE and distributed by Rogers Sports & Media. Its programming consists entirely of the linear feed offered as part of the WWE Network video streaming service.

CONtv is an OTT streaming service launched in March 2015 as a joint venture between Cineverse and Wizard World.

VVVVID is an Italian video on demand service and a virtual community, with an offering that includes international movies, anime, series, music videos, and short thematic videos.

Wakanim was a French subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service.

References

  1. listofthetop.com: About Viewster, 2016
  2. fierceiptv.com: DIVA AG adopts successful viewster brand across all operations Archived 2012-11-01 at the Wayback Machine , March 29, 2011
  3. corp.viewster.com: Viewster company info site Archived May 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine , visited October 21, 2014
  4. comScore: "comScore Releases August 2014 U.S. Online Video Rankings", September 18, 2014
  5. androidauthority.com: VOD Service gets new look, Android app Archived 2012-11-08 at the Wayback Machine , October 08, 2012
  6. "Cinedigm Finalizes Viewster, Viewster Anime Acquisition". 30 August 2023.
  7. "Cinedigm Announces Global CONtv Anime Network". 8 June 2020.
  8. "Cinedigm Launches Linear Streaming Network CONtv Anime". 30 August 2023.
  9. C21: Viewster tracks down Anime', October 13, 2014