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Viki (website)

Topic: Company

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 4 min
Rakuten Viki
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryOnline streaming video
Founded2007
FounderRazmig Hovaghimian
Changseong Ho
Jiwon Moon
Area served
Global
ProductsInternet television
ServicesCrowdsourced subtitles
Number of employees
> 100
ParentRakuten
Websitewww.viki.com
Former logo

Viki is an American video streaming website headquartered in San Mateo, California.[1] The company also has offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Japan, and Seoul, South Korea.[2]

The name Viki is a play on the words video and Wiki, drawing similarities to those companies' use of volunteers for content management.[citation needed] The company won the Crunchie award for best international start-up company in January 2011.[3]

History

Razmig Hovaghimian, Changseong Ho and Jiwon Moon founded Viki in 2007.[4] 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.[5] The company moved to Singapore in 2008 to take advantage of generous government backing and the city-state’s role as a pan-Asian hub.[6] In December 2010, Viki exited the beta phase of its software and made its services available to the general public.[4] In September 2013 it was reported that the company was being acquired by the Japanese company Rakuten for $200 million.[7]

Services

Viki streams premium licensed content in a similar way that Hulu does in United States of America markets.[1] The site then puts the content on one of its channels, and the content can be subtitled by community volunteers.[8] Viki was the first[according to whom?] platform for real-time subtitling and sharing of videos of all content types.[citation needed]. Community members can subtitle their favorite videos in their preferred languages, under a Creative Commons license using Viki's subtitling technology, enabling individuals to collaborate globally, in dozens of languages at once.[9] The subtitling software developed for the company allows many volunteers to translate a video concurrently in up to 160 languages.[1] Viki also syndicates its shows with fan-generated subtitles to partners such as Hulu, Netflix, and Yahoo!, and receives fees and revenue from those distributors.[10] Of the approximately 200 language subtitles available on the site, roughly 50 of these are vulnerable or endangered languages.[11]

Business

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.[12][13] 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.[5][6][13]

In May 2012, Viki announced deals with Warner Music, SEED Music Group of Taiwan, and LOEN Entertainment of South Korea, bringing thousands of music videos to the site.[14] In that same month, BBC Worldwide announced an extension of its relationship with Viki, including a deal to work with the company on advertising.[12]

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.[13] The deal includes only a portion of the Viki catalog and is offered for free.[15]

In the year following its acquisition by Rakuten (September 2013),[7] Viki went from about 22 million monthly active users with 10 million on mobile to 35 million monthly active users and 25 million mobile users.[16]

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!, MSN, NBC, and A&E, as well as TVB in Hong Kong, SBS in South Korea, Fuji TV in Japan and Amedia in Russia.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Holmes, Sam (2011). "Singapore Start-up Sees Gold Mine In Foreign Language TV". The Wall Street Journal. https://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/10/21/singapore-start-up-sees-gold-mine-in-foreign-language-tv/. Retrieved January 25, 2013. 
  2. ↑ Viki Office Tour - Coolest Places in Singapore: Episode 1 (January 28). 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2015 – via YouTube.
  3. ↑ Rao, Leena (2011). "Congratulations Crunchies Winners! Twitter Takes Best Startup of 2010". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2011/01/21/congratulations-crunchies-winners-twitter-takes-best-startup-of-2010/. Retrieved January 25, 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bertschy, Zac (2012). "Interview: Razmig Hovaghimian, Cofounder and CEO of Viki.com". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2012-04-25/interview-razmig-hovaghimian-co-founder-and-ceo-of-viki.com. Retrieved January 25, 2013. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Holmes, Sam (2012). "Breaking Down Language Barriers - WSJ". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443921504577643773810338032. Retrieved December 3, 2015. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lacy, Sarah (2010). "ViKi Raises $4.3 Million from VC All-Stars to Translate the World's Video". https://techcrunch.com/2010/12/08/viki-raises-4-3-million-from-vc-all-stars-to-translate-the-worlds-video/?icid=tc_marc-andreessen_art&tag=marc-andreessen. Retrieved January 25, 2013. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Swisher, Kara (2013). "Exclusive: Japan's Rakuten Acquires Viki Video Site for $200 Million". AllThingsD. http://allthingsd.com/20130901/exclusive-japans-rakuten-acquires-viki-video-site-for-200-million. Retrieved December 3, 2015. 
  8. ↑ "Rakuten Viki". https://www.viki.com/community_resources. 
  9. ↑ "Rakuten Viki Terms of Use Section 8.3.2". https://www.viki.com/terms_of_use#toc-submissions. 
  10. ↑ Bates, Greg (2012). "Viki Video: 1 Billion Videos in 150 languages Means Never Having to Say Rerun". Programmable Web. http://blog.programmableweb.com/2012/12/27/viki-video-1-billion-videos-in-150-languages-means-never-having-to-say-rerun/. Retrieved January 25, 2013. 
  11. ↑ Park, Madison (2014). "Can Fans Unravel the Babel of the World's Dramas?". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/09/world/asia/international-dramas-viki/index.html?hpt=hp_c4. Retrieved December 3, 2015. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Rao, Leena (2011). "International Video Site ViKi Debuts iPhone App, Will Partner With Samsung For Android App". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2011/09/23/international-video-site-viki-debuts-iphone-app-will-partner-with-samsung-for-android-app/. Retrieved January 25, 2013. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Boyd, E.B. (2012). "Boom Tube: How Viki Is Creating The Global Hulu". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/1842719/boom-tube-how-viki-creating-global-hulu. Retrieved January 25, 2013. 
  14. ↑ Russell, Jon (2012). "Global Music Site Viki Moves into Music After Signing up Record Labels". The Next Web. https://thenextweb.com/asia/2012/05/24/global-video-site-viki-moves-into-music-inks-deals-with-warner-music-and-other-labels/?_suid=1357668186847020024096849374473. Retrieved December 3, 2015. 
  15. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (2012). "Viki Climbs The Great Firewall, Signs With ‘China’s Facebook’ Renren For Its First Video Distribution Deal In The Country". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/12/viki-climbs-the-great-firewall-signs-with-chinas-facebook-renren-for-its-first-video-distribution-deal-in-the-country/. Retrieved January 25, 2013. 
  16. ↑ Corbin, David (2015). "Razming Hovaghimian, founder of Viki, out as CEO, to lead Rakuten’s global video strategy". Tech in Asia. https://www.techinasia.com/razmig-hovaghimian-founder-of-viki-out-as-ceo/. Retrieved December 3, 2015. 

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