User:EverTheEditor/Viki-1
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Online streaming video |
| Website | http://www.viki.com |
Viki is a video streaming website based in Singapore that offers on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, and music videos from around the world.[1] It is also the first and fastest platform for real-time subtitling of video, relying on a community of thousands of volunteer translators.[2] The company currently has offices in Singapore, San Francisco, and Seoul, South Korea.
The name Viki is a play on the words video and Wikipedia, drawing similarities to those companies’ use of volunteers for content management.[2] The company won the Crunchie award for best international start-up company in January 2011.[3]
History
The concept for Viki was originally developed in 2007 as a joint project between Harvard and Stanford graduate school students. Razmig Hovaghimian, a student at Stanford at the time, saw the challenges of spreading content overseas and founded Viki, along with partners Changseong Ho and Jiwon Moon, as a way to break down those barriers.[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.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). In December 2010, Viki exited the beta phase of its software, and made its services available to the general public.[5]
Services
Viki screens premium licensed content in a similar way that Hulu does in U.S. markets. Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). 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.[2][6]
Corporate partnerships
On September 23, 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 same year to develop an Android app.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). In that same month, BBC Worldwide announced an extension of its relationship with Viki, including a deal to work with the company on advertising.[7]
On July 13, 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.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
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.<ref name=TC2,</ref>
References
- ^ Holmes, Sam. "Singapore Start-up Sees Gold Mine In Foreign Language TV". WSG. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ a b c "Viki". CrunchBase. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ Rao, Leena. "Congratulations Crunchies Winners! Twitter Takes Best Startup Of 2010". Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ "Breaking Down Communication Barriers". WSJ. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ Bertschy, Zac. [Interview: Razmig Hovaghimian, Cofounder and CEO of Viki.com "Interview: Razmig Hovaghimian, Cofounder and [[CEO]] of Viki.com"]. Anime News Network. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ Greg, Bates. "Viki Video: 1 Billion Videos in 150 languages Means Never Having to Say Rerun". Programmable Web. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ Rao, Leena. International Video Site ViKi Debuts iPhone App, Will Partner With Samsung For Android App. TechCrunch http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/23/international-video-site-viki-debuts-iphone-app-will-partner-with-samsung-for-android-app/. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
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