For Immediate Release

STARZ MEDIA’S MANGA ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF BROADBAND STREAMING VIDEO DESTINATION MANGA.COM

Top-selling Anime Brand launches new multi-faceted entertainment site with 100s of videos for free, ad-supported viewing

 

Los Angeles and New York – Starz Media’s Manga Entertainment today announced the launch of its new streaming video entertainment website, Manga.com. The new destination site includes a unique blend of video, product-related information and other editorial content that will deliver a customized user experience to a wide range of users; from product-hungry anime-fans to web-video enthusiasts looking for their daily fix of sexy animation, killer kill shots, crazy monsters and masterful samurais.   

Beginning today, fans of the cutting-edge animation in Manga Entertainment’s library of anime will experience video in multiple ways, from such popular TV, movie and other video titles as “Ghost in the Shell”, “Ninja Scroll,” “Street Fighter,” “Dead Leaves,” “Blood: The Last Vampire” and “Castle of Cagliostro,” among many others.   

“Over the past year, we’ve steadily increased the number of ways users can experience our Manga-branded anime content.  The launch of Manga.com is a further extension of our strategy to deliver this content to users whenever, however and in whatever form they want it,” said Marc DeBevoise, Starz Media’s senior vice president, business development and strategy, who engineered this and previous Manga Entertainment deals. 

The launch of Manga.com complements a recent series of both new and traditional media distribution agreements for Starz Media and Manga Entertainment.  On TV, Manga Entertainment is responsible for SCI FI’s “Animonday” block of programming (airing Monday’s at 11pm), which delivers new and classic anime TV series and movies. Starz Media recently announced a short-form, ad-supported Manga Entertainment content deal with Heavy.com and long-form, transaction-based agreements with Amazon and Xbox LIVE. Starz Media also has digital distribution deals in place with such services as BitTorrent, Guba, IGN’s Direct2Drive, Netflix and Starz’s own Vongo.   

“Manga.com was developed with the fan in mind but also to be used as a discovery mechanism for new users just being introduced to anime and the Manga brand,” added David Katz, Director, Digital Media for Starz Media. “We really want the site to be accessible to anyone who might be interested in this content.”  

The features of Manga.com include: ·         Engaging Original Content – Manga.com delivers original entertainment from a unique library of anime-style animation. ·         Programmed Channel Experience – Specialized channels deliver the hottest clips from the Manga library organized by a fan-favorite theme, including:–          Babes: The hottest eye candy from the Manga catalog.–          Mecha: Robots, machines, and all things cybernetic.–          Kill Shots: Decapitations, exploding torsos, and blood galore.–          Samurai: Heroes from feudal Japan and beyond battle sinister villains.   –          Monster: Devils, vampires, and other supernatural delights. ·         Product Information – Manga.com is the premiere source for DVD, TV and Digital product information on Manga’s titles.  Fans can dig down to the episode level to find synopses, directors and actors, DVD extras, and links to purchase DVD and Digital products.·         Unique Editorial Perspective – Manga’s new entertainment model includes editorial that combines the diverse content from the Manga catalog with the voice of its Otaku fans.·         Dynamic Video Experience – Manga.com, powered by Brightcove, allows fans to view video in a variety of ways.  Fans can take advantage of Brightcove’s community features to get a link to the video, blog it, email it to friends, or even collect an RSS feed of Manga videos posted to the site.  ·         Branded Environments for Advertisers – Manga offers powerful branded opportunities for advertising partners to connect with audiences.  Manga channels and products can be linked with advertising sponsors as well as distinctive branded headers to create unique environments that support the advertiser and genre-specific content.   

Content offerings won’t stop there. Manga.com plans to launch new content channels and features on a regular basis, from both its existing catalog, as well as new Manga titles the company produces and acquires.  

Starz Media has chosen the Brightcove Internet TV platform to distribute all short-form video content on the Manga.com website, available for free, ad-supported viewing. “Manga’s roster of anime hits represents an extremely fast-growing and in-demand category of Internet video content,” said Adam Berrey, vice president of marketing and strategy, Brightcove. “With Brightcove, Starz Media is able to bring to market rapidly a large volume of video programming through its own branded, broadband video destination. We look forward to helping Starz and Manga expand their distribution and open the door to new revenue opportunities.” 

 

 

About Starz MediaStarz Media, LLC, is a programming, production and distribution company operating worldwide. It includes the Film Roman, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Manga Entertainment brands. Its units create animated and live-action programming – including theatrical films – and programming created under contract for other media companies. It distributes that programming, and programming acquired from outside producers, through home video retailers, theaters, broadcasters, ad-supported and premium television channels, and Internet and wireless video distributors in the U.S. and internationally. Starz Media is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Group, www.starz.com.