Ellation Rolling Out Multichannel Platform for Anime & Gaming Fans

SAN FRANCISCO: Ellation, parent company of anime online community Crunchyroll, has announced plans for a multichannel video platform for fans of anime, gaming, fantasy and other genres.

Titled VRV, the digital hub will roll out later this year. Initial channels featured on the platform will include Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Seeso, Nerdist Alpha and Geek & Sundry Alpha. Additionally, Frederator’s Cartoon Hangover offering will be exclusively available via the VRV platform. These partners will provide content such as Berserk, Cyanide & Happiness, Red vs. Blue, RWBY and Bravest Warriors.

Further channels will be announced in the coming months.

VRV viewers will have the option to subscribe to the full, premium offerings á la carte or to a bundle of select channels at a greater value. Each channel will also offer free, ad-supported content. VRV will be available initially in the U.S. on mobile and living room devices with customizable watchlists.

“VRV was created to unite passionate fans around the content they love,” said Tom Pickett, the CEO of Ellation. “VRV will be a home where you can discover new channels to love, interact with fellow fans and engage with creators on a deeper level, especially as we begin to roll out new features for our community. Premium channels like Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth and the comedy streaming channel Seeso are working hard to bring new and improved programming to their communities. While each of the audiences are unique, they have a significant amount of overlapping interests.”

“Frederator is excited to bring the premium version of Cartoon Hangover exclusively to VRV,” said Fred Seibert, the CEO of Frederator Networks. “Crunchyroll is the most successful animation subscription video service. Many Cartoon Hangover fans are Crunchyroll subscribers and anime fans (as are our creators and a number of our employees). We have admired Rooster Teeth’s phenomenal ability to connect with their fans. When Tom Pickett came to us with this VRV opportunity, it became the ideal place to showcase Cartoon Hangover, especially our shows Bravest Warriors and Bee and PuppyCat.”

Adam Rymer, the president of Legendary Digital Networks, parent company of Nerdist and Geek & Sundry, remarked: “Nerdist and Geek & Sundry succeed by bringing passionate fans together around the things that they love the most. VRV is poised to be an epicenter of great, authentic content tailored for our audience, and we’re excited to join together in creating a new experience that will live across multiple platforms.”

“VRV’s platform is a great opportunity to attract a bigger audience and provide our fans, especially our valuable sponsors, with more choice for how they want to watch Rooster Teeth shows,” said Matt Hullum, the CEO of Rooster Teeth. “Our community has been asking for a great living room experience, and VRV is going to give them that alongside other great entertainers that we really enjoy and respect.”