Aniplus Inc. (Korean: 주식회사 애니플러스; RR: Jusighoesa Aniplus) is a South Korean television channel and anime distributor. Founded in 2004, the company also operates different businesses including a video on demand platform and a merchandising arm in its own country.
Aniplus is owned by JJ MediaWorks, a VOD service provider. It distributes its programs outside its own platforms to clients such as Netflix and Coupang Play.[2]
History
The company originally started as a television station called SBN TV. Originally owned by C& Group, its parent company dissolved due to a liquidity crisis. JJ MediaWorks acquired the station in July 2009 and renamed the company to Aniplus Inc. the following month. The company launched the Aniplus television channel on December 7, 2009.[3] Seung-Taek Jeon, the CEO of JJ MediaWorks, became the new CEO of Aniplus following the acquisition.[4]
Aniplus launched an independent television feed for Southeast Asia called Aniplus Asia in 2013.[5] The following year, Aniplus established its subsidiary Plus Media Networks Asia in Singapore to handle anime and Korean drama distribution for the Southeast Asian market.[1]
In 2014, Aniplus entered the art exhibition business by establishing a subsidiary named Media & Art.[6]
On February 7, 2020, Aniplus became listed on KOSDAQ.[7] In the same month, the company fully acquired Korean drama production company WeMad to diversify its portfolio.[3]
On February 4, 2022, advertising agency NEGO Company became a subsidiary of Aniplus.[8]
On August 17, 2022, industrial design company Rowoon Company was acquired by Aniplus to strengthen its IP commercialization.[9] Aniplus has 67.11% stake in the company.[1]
On November 8, 2022, private equity firm Keistone Partners announced that it and Aniplus would jointly acquire 87% stake in animation streaming company Laftel Inc. from RIDI Corporation, the owner of Manta webtoon platform for 80 billion won. RIDI would invest 10 billion won in Aniplus to support the platform's growth.[10] Aniplus owns 56.38% stake in Laftel, with 12.5% of it being a call option.[1]
In April 2023, Aniplus had entered an acquisition deal of Animax, the second largest animation broadcaster and rival competitor in South Korea, with KC Global Media Entertainment. The deal was approved in June of the same year. The numbers were not disclosed, but sources close to the transaction suggested it was about 46 billion won.[11] The deal made Aniplus the biggest anime distributor in South Korea.[1]
On October 4, 2024, it was announced that Aniplus Korea will discontinue some of its key core services effective December 31 due to various internal and external factors including the changes in landscape of media environment that focuses more on its stronger business venture in the area. The services that may affect the discountinuation include its live broadcast, VOD streaming and download functionalities; while the rest of owned and operated assets such as Laftel, Animax Korea and other offerings will remain unaffected.[12]
Aniplus Shop
Aniplus Shop is the retailing division and collaboration cafe brand of Aniplus.
On April 28, 2017,[citation needed] Aniplus opened its first store in Hapjeong-dong, Seoul. In May 2021, it was reported that the company planned to expand its store to five cities across the country within the third and fourth quarters of the year.[2]
On July 9, 2021, Aniplus Shop opened its second branch in Daejeon.[13] The third location, located in Gwangju, was open on August 19, 2021.[14] The latest store in Seomyeon, Busan was open on October 28, 2021.[15]
Plus Media Networks Asia
Plus Media Networks Asia Pte. Ltd. is a Singaporean subsidiary of Aniplus. It operates Aniplus Asia and a Korean entertainment channel named K+.
Aniplus Asia is a Southeast Asian anime pay television channel and anime distributor based in Singapore. It is a sister channel of Aniplus. Launched in January 2013, it is currently available in Singapore and Indonesia.
Most of Aniplus Asia programs come from its parent company Plus Media Networks Asia. The channel airs the notable anime series from Japan, which was premiered day-and-date. Notable series include Attack on Titan, The Promised Neverland, and Lycoris Recoil. Select programs are licensed from other distributors such as Medialink and Mighty Media.[16][17]
Television channel
Aniplus Asia was first launched as part of Thai operator TOT IPTV's launch lineup on January 16, 2013.[5][18][19] The channel was subsequently launched in Indonesia on Big TV in September of the same year.[20][21] It was made available in Singapore on Toggle.sg (now meWatch) on November 6, 2013,[22] and on Singtel TV on March 14, 2014.[23][24]
In April 2017, the channel was launched in Malaysia exclusively on Astro Go.[25]Sky Cable picked up the channel in the Philippines the following month.[26] On May 25, 2018, Aniplus Asia was made available on Easy TV Home in the Philippines, but has ceased operations since September 30, 2019.[27] In September 2018, the channel was added to Cablelink in the Philippines.[28]Cignal added the channel to its lineup in the Philiipines on January 4, 2020.[29]
On April 1, 2021, Aniplus Asia ceased its transmission on Astro Go in Malaysia[30] and Royal Cable in the Philippines after the contract had expired,[31] However, the channel resurfaced on Royal Cable among other alternatives following the lack of channel lineups due to the closure of Disney-owned networks in the region.[32]
In February 2023, Aniplus Asia appeared on Unifi TV as a video on demand channel alongside its sister channel K+.[citation needed] On May 1, 2023, the channel was removed from Sky Cable in the Philippines.[33] Cablelink discontinued the channel in the Philippines on June 1, 2023.[34] The channel was sunset on AIS Play in Thailand from October 1, 2023.[35] In the Philippines, Cignal shut down the channel on January 1, 2024.[36]
Video on demand
In August 2015, Aniplus Asia partnered with OTT platform iflix to distribute its titles via its VOD service.[37]
In September 2016, the channel was launched in Hong Kong on video streaming site Le.com.[citation needed] Later in November, it was picked up by streaming website Tribe in Indonesia, and reached the Philippines in December of the same year.[38]
On July 25, 2017, Aniplus Asia announced that it has launched a VOD service on its website for residents in Singapore.[39]
On November 23, 2020, the original Korean Aniplus counterpart announced that Aniplus Asia was made available on demand via Now TV.[40] Now TV terminated the VOD channel on June 30, 2024.
In June 2016, programming from Aniplus Asia started to be distributed in Thailand on free-to-air channel Now26 as a programming block via a partnership with Mediaplex International.[43]
On July 25, 2017, Aniplus Asia announced that it has opened an online store for anime merchandise on its website.[39]
Aniplus Cafe Singapore
Aniplus Cafe Singapore is a collaboration cafe located at Esplanade Mall, Singapore. It was officially open on November 29, 2019 with BanG Dream! being its first theme.[46] The cafe also sells merchandise from various anime series.[47]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021.[50][51] The convention returned in 2022, with Daewon Media and D&C Media becoming its co-hosts alongside Aniplus and Sony Music Japan.[52]
Much like other anime conventions, AGF features many events for attendees to take part in such as guest panels and concerts, as well as activities from exhibit booths and collaboration cafes.
Korea International Exhibition Center Goyang, Gyeonggi Province
Other subsidiaries
Media & Art
Media & Art is an event management company specializing in art exhibition. In 2016, the company co-produced Korean drama series Secret Healer.
In June 2020, it was reported that Aniplus was developing exhibitions from webtoons and pursuing contracts overseas through the company.[63] The following month, Media & Art opened a platform and art galleries under the name Groundseesaw.[64] Groundseesaw produces exhibitions from domestic and international intellectual properties.[65]
Rowoon Company is an industrial design company.[3] It handles goods production process including planning, design, manufacturing, distribution and operation. The company also has a brand licensing operation to produce and sell goods of licensed characters. Its subsidiary Rowoon Labs develops NFT and metaverse projects.[9]
Laftel
Laftel is an animation streaming service. In addition to Japanese anime, the service also streams original Korean content and animated series adapted from webtoons.[66] In 2022, it became a subsidiary of Aniplus and was reported to be expanding to Southeast Asia in the future.[10] The service launched in Southeast Asia in January 2024.[67]
Animax Broadcasting Korea is the operating company of Animax, a South Korean anime television channel. It was originally owned by Sony Pictures Television International before being sold to KC Global Media Entertainment in 2020.[68] The channel along with its operating company was then acquired by Aniplus in 2023.[11]
^ abcdef"애니플러스/사업보고서/2024.03.21" [Aniplus/Business Report/2024.03.21] (PDF) (in Korean). March 21, 2024. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
^Yoo, Hyeon-seok (December 9, 2019). "애니플러스, 미디어아트 부문 글로벌 진출 확대 추진" [Aniplus seeks to expand its global presence in the media art sector]. Asia Economy (in Korean). Retrieved June 6, 2024.
^애니플러스샵 [@ANIPLUS_SHOP] (July 2, 2021). "【7월 9일(금) 그랜드 오픈! 애니플러스 대전 중앙로점】 대전점만의 풍성한 특전과 이벤트를 만나보세요!" [[Grand opening on Friday, July 9th! Aniplus Jungang-ro, Daejeon Branch] Experience the rich benefits and events exclusive to the Daejeon branch!] (Tweet) (in Korean). Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Twitter.
^애니플러스샵 [@ANIPLUS_SHOP] (August 13, 2021). "【8월 19일(목) 그랜드 오픈! 애니플러스 광주 충장로점】 광주점만의 풍성한 특전과 이벤트를 만나보세요!" [[Grand opening on Thursday, August 19th! Aniplus Chungjang-ro, Gwangju Branch] Experience the rich benefits and events exclusive to the Gwangju branch!] (Tweet) (in Korean). Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Twitter.
^애니플러스샵 [@ANIPLUS_SHOP] (October 21, 2021). "【10월 28일(목) 그랜드 오픈! 애니플러스 부산 서면점】 부산점만의 풍성한 특전과 이벤트를 만나보세요!" [[Grand opening on Thursday, October 28th! Aniplus Seomyeon, Busan Branch] Experience the rich benefits and events unique to the Busan branch!] (Tweet) (in Korean). Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Twitter.
^Mighty Media (September 30, 2020). "📣📣曼迪10月新番代理公告📣📣 【魔法科高中的劣等生 來訪者篇】" [📣📣Mighty Media's New October License Announcement📣📣 The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc]. Facebook (in Chinese). Retrieved June 6, 2024.
^Kim, Sang-yoon (June 18, 2013). "'오타쿠' 아이디어 통했다..청장년층 애니메이션 '쑥쑥'" [The 'otaku' idea worked... Animation for young adults 'growing fast']. Edaily [ko] (in Korean). Retrieved June 6, 2024.
^AGF Korea [@AGF_Korea] (October 28, 2021). "[AGF 2021 개최 취소 안내] 자세한 내용은 하단 이미지와 홈페이지를 참고 부탁드립니다.🙏" [[AGF 2021 cancellation notice] For more information, see the image below and the website. Please refer to them. 🙏] (Tweet) (in Korean). Retrieved June 6, 2024 – via Twitter.
^ ab"국내 최대 애니메이션X게임 축제 'AGF 2022' 역대 최고 기록 달성" [Korea's largest animation X game festival 'AGF 2022' achieved all-time record]. This Is Game (in Korean). December 9, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
^"지난 3, 4일 개최된 AGF 2018 성황리에 마무리" [AGF 2018, held on the 3rd and 4th, concluded successfully]. This Is Game (in Korean). November 5, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
^Shin, Seok-ho (December 27, 2019). "'AGF 2019'에 이틀간 관람객 3만 5000명 방문" [35,000 visitors visited ‘AGF 2019’ over two days]. The Games Daily (in Korean). Retrieved June 6, 2024.
^AGF Korea [@AGF_Korea] (November 20, 2019). "【AGF KOREA 2019 메인 스테이지 일정표 공개】" [【AGF KOREA 2019 Main Stage Schedule Revealed】] (Tweet) (in Korean). Retrieved June 6, 2024 – via Twitter.
^AGF Korea [@AGF_Korea] (June 28, 2024). "AGF KOREA 2024 개최 확정!👏🏻🎊🎉" [AGF KOREA 2024 confirmed to be held! 👏🏻🎊🎉] (Tweet) (in Korean). Retrieved July 21, 2024 – via Twitter.
^Kwon, Hyo-joong (July 21, 2020). "애니플러스 "웹툰 IP 체험형 전시 인기…미디어아트 사업 탄력"" [Aniplus “Experimental popular webtoon IP exhibitions... Media art business momentum”]. Edaily [ko] (in Korean). Retrieved June 6, 2024.
^"애니플러스/분기보고서/2022.05.16" [Aniplus/Business Report/2022.05.16] (PDF) (in Korean). March 21, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
