(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
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Abema

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Ameba (website) or Ameba TV.

AbemaTV, Inc.
Type of site
OTT platform
Available inJapanese
FoundedApril 1, 2015; 10 years ago (2015-04-01)
HeadquartersAbema Towers, 40-1 Udagawachō,
Shibuya, Tokyo
,
Japan
Area servedJapan
Owner
Key people
  • Susumu Fujita (president, and Representative Director of CyberAgent)
  • Hiroshi Hayakawa (chairman, and chairman, CEO, president, and COO of TV Asahi)
Products
Services
RevenueIncrease ¥13.56 billion (2024)
Operating incomeIncrease ¥24.80 billion (2024)
Net incomeIncrease ¥30.81 billion (2024)
URLabema.tv
RegistrationOptional
UsersIncrease6.52 million per month (as of February 2023)[1]
LaunchedMarch 1, 2016 (2016-03-01)
(Early access)
April 11, 2016 (2016-04-11)
(Full launch)
Current statusActive

Abema (アベマ, often stylized as all caps) is a Japanese streaming service that launched on April 11, 2016, under the name AbemaTV.[2] It is majority-owned by CyberAgent, with a 55.2% stake, and TV Asahi, with a 36.8% stake, while the remaining ownership belongs to various other companies, mostly in the media and entertainment industry.

Abema primarily functions as an online television network, featuring multiple FAST channels that offer news, sports, entertainment programming, with the option to become a premium member to view past programs on demand.

Abema's headquarters at Abema Towers in Shibuya, Tokyo

History

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Launch

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CyberAgent and TV Asahi announced on March 31, 2015, that they would jointly establish a fixed-rate video distribution company called AbemaTV in April of that year.[3] The company became subsidiaries of CyberAgent, and Shun Fujita, the President of CyberAgent, was appointed as the President of AbemaTV.[3]

CyberAgent and TV Asahi launched the service on April 11, 2016, with some channels pre-released starting from March 1 of the same year. AbemaTV channels stream in real-time, similar to traditional linear TV, but missed programs can only be watched by becoming a premium plan member, which costs 960 yen per month.[4]

Though CyberAgent also owns a similarly-named social networking service called Ameba, they chose not to re-use the brand for AbemaTV due to the existence of a Canadian service called Ameba TV.[5] According to President Fujita, he wanted to convey that AbemaTV was a new and fresh service that was an extension of Ameba, which has been around for over 10 years. However, he also admitted that the name AbemaTV can be difficult to remember, pronounce, and often mistaken, stating that he himself occasionally misspeaks it.[6]

Established position in Japan

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On May 7, 2017, AbemaTV's live show Win 10 Million Yen if You Beat Koki Kameda set a new record with 14.2 million views, causing the service's servers to crash. AbemaTV offered the match footage for free on a special website.[7] In December of the same year, AbemaTV announced that the 72 Hour Honne TV program featuring three former members of SMAP had garnered 74 million views.[8]

However, according to the financial statement as of September 30, 2017, AbemaTV recorded a net loss of 19.125 billion yen and a deficit of 28.38 billion yen in retained earnings.[9] Despite this, CyberAgent plans to continue investing in AbemaTV in the fiscal year 2018 and expand into peripheral businesses such as radio channel launch and broadcast of shopping programs.[9] The reason for disclosing the losses is to deter other companies from entering this field and also because the parent company, CyberAgent, is listed on the stock exchange and has a responsibility to explain to shareholders that the stagnant operating profit is due to the preemptive investment in AbemaTV, according to President Fujita.[10]

In January 2019, CyberAgent disclosed that Abema Premium had 358,000 subscribers, a 4.5-fold increase from the previous year, and that AbemaTV's app had been downloaded 37 million times. The service had a record of 9.18 million weekly active users (WAU) during the New Year's holiday period.[11] President Fujita explained that when AbemaTV started about three years ago, the plan was to create a linear TV service on the internet. However, almost all of the package content is available on-demand, with live streaming of news and sports being the only linear content. He also stated that AbemaTV's dramas are 95% on-demand. Fujita expressed his intention to strengthen the hybridization of linear and on-demand viewing in pursuit of user convenience.[11]

On February 25, 2019, AbemaTV began a trial service for viewers outside Japan, with the ability to watch from the United States, Australia, Thailand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Brazil using the iOS/Android app.[12]

In January 2020, CyberAgent announced its Q1 earnings for the 2020 fiscal year (October to December 2019), stating that the media division was boosted by AbemaTV, with a revenue increase of 6.9% to 12.2 billion yen, although there was an operating loss of 5 billion yen. The number of paid members for Abema Premium increased to 593,000.[13]

As of March 4, 2020, AbemaTV reached 50 million cumulative downloads on its smartphone app.[14] When the service was launched in 2016, its goal was to achieve 10 million weekly active users who could be monetized through advertising; the company achieved this goal for the first time in 2019. After March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a tailwind, and the number of weekly active users reached a record high of over 14.9 million in early April.[15]

In April 2020, AbemaTV changed its name to Abema, due to the diversification of services beyond linear streaming to on-demand streaming and other offerings.[16]

Investment in sports

[edit]

On June 29, 2021, Abema announced that they would be live streaming 166 Major League Baseball games starting from July 1. The focus of the live streaming was on teams that included Japanese players, such as Shohei Ohtani's Los Angeles Angels. Out of the 166 games, 120 were available for free.[17][18] On March 31, 2022, Abema announced that they would continue live streaming games for the 2022 season, starting from the opening game on April 8. The service streamed a total of 324 games, including all games of the Los Angeles Angels, with 234 of them being available for free.[19] On March 22, 2023, Abema further announced that they would continue live streaming 324 games for the 2023 season, starting from the opening game.[20]

On November 16, 2022, Abema announced that it would livestream for free all 64 matches, including the qualifiers, of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar starting from November 21, 2022.[21]

As the broadcasting rights fees for the FIFA World Cup have been increasing in recent years, many private broadcasters have reported losses since the South Africa tournament in 2010. As reported by The Asahi Shimbun on July 28, 2021; the domestic broadcasting rights fee for the 1998 France tournament, which was purchased solely by NHK, was 550 million yen, but the amount offered for the Qatar tournament exceeded 20 billion yen, and an agreement could not be reached on the price. As a "soccer enthusiast" who was concerned that the World Cup might not be viewable in Japan, President Fujita decided to pursue the acquisition of broadcasting rights.[22]

According to the official ranking of viewership by match that was announced, the "Japan vs. Croatia" match in the knockout stage on November 6 was the most watched, and the number of viewers immediately after the match exceeded 23 million. The second most watched match was the "Japan vs. Costa Rica" match in the group stage on November 17, and the third was the "Japan vs. Spain" match in the group stage on December 2. Abema explained that the number of viewers was counted as the "unique browsers" that accessed the site on that day, meaning that even if the same person accessed the site multiple times using different browser apps, they were counted as one person.[23]

On February 9, 2023, Abema announced a partnership with SKY PerfecTV! to live stream three games per match day for the remaining games of the Bundesliga this season, with some games also available for free.[24]

In 2023, Abema garnered a user base of 6.52 million people in February.[3] According to the Mobile Society Research Institute's survey in the same year, it achieved a recognition rate of 69.4%.[25] Additionally, the survey conducted by Hakuhodo DY Media Partners revealed that its usage rate stood at 34.4%.[26][27]

List of channels

[edit]
Channel name Date launched Description
Abema News 2016/3/1
  • 24/7 News Channel
  • Changes to Abema Emergency News during emergency broadcasts
Abema Select1 2016/3/1
  • Streams various original programs, special programs, variety, anime, and drama produced by Abema
Abema Select2 2016/4/11
  • An alternative channel to Abema Select, also broadcasts various programs as the original channel
Abema Gold 2016/4/11
  • Streams special programs in addition to various Japanese and every movies, sports programs, and other variety around the world
Abema Cinema 2016/4/11
  • Streams various Asian television dramas, movies, and Tokusatsu
C–World 2016/12/5[28]
  • Streams various Chinese television dramas and movies
Animasia One 2018/4/1[29]
  • 24/7 anime channel
  • Focuses on new anime that aired in recent years
  • Animasia Two and Animasia Three also runs irregularly to provide more channels for anime streaming
Animasia LIVE 2018/4/1[29]
Everyone's Animasia 2018/4/1[29]
  • Mainly streams family oriented anime and nostalgic or older anime
CM 2016/8/8
  • Streams only commercials published by Abema
  • Comments are disabled for this channel
QUEST by Discovery 2019/5/1
  • Channel in collaboration with Discovery Japan,[30] mainly streams documentaries and other similar programs
M–Station 2016/4/11
  • Music videos for every music and songs from Japan and around the world
  • Also streams hip hop music videos and has a designated DJ for hip-hop music
Abema Radio 2017/11/20 (J-Wave Period)[31]
2017/12/1 (Full Launch)
  • Broadcasts 9 different radio channels across the nation
FIGHTZ[32] 2016/7/31
Abema Sports[33] 2016/3/1 (First Launch)
2017/8/1 (Second Launch)
  • Streams various sports competitions and sports related programs
Keirin 2019/4/2
  • Streams live keirin competitions and keirin related content
Fishing 2016/3/1
  • Streams fishing related content
  • Available worldwide since April 2019[34]
Shogi[35] 2017/2/1
  • Streams shogi matches and shogi related content
  • Available worldwide since April 2019[34]
Mahjong 2016/3/1
Abema Overseas News 2019/2/25
  • Aimed at Japanese people who are overseas and out of the country as a news channel
  • Unavailable domestically within Japan[36]

Other channels

[edit]

These channels run on an inconsistent schedule

  • Abema Sports Live – Live sports competitions
  • Shogi Live – Live shogi competitions
  • Mahjong Live – Live Mahjong competitions
  • Ōsumo Live – Live Honbasho Sumo matches and content

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "動画どうが配信はいしん、淘汰とうたの時代じだいに 国内こくない草分くさわけ、ＧＹAＯ！サービス終了しゅうりょうへ" [In the era of video streaming consolidation, pioneering domestic service GYAO! is set to shut down.]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 21 March 2023. p. 9.
  2. ^ アベマ ティービー
  3. ^ a b c "サイバーエージェントとテレ朝てれあさが合弁ごうべん新しん会社かいしゃ 定額ていがく制動せいどう画が配信はいしんとニュースチャンネル展開てんかい". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  4. ^ "サイバーエージェント藤田ふじた社長しゃちょうが「AbemaTV」でマスメディアを目指めざす理由りゆう". ITmedia Mobile (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  5. ^ ASCII. "iPhoneで24時じ間あいだ無料むりょう動画どうが視聴しちょう、サイバーエージェントとテレビ朝日てれびあさひが手てがける「Abema TV」を徹底てってい解説かいせつ (1/2)". ASCII.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  6. ^ "「AbemaTV」（アベマTV）、なぜ「AmebaTV」じゃないの？ 藤田ふじた社長しゃちょう「正直しょうじき言いって、半分はんぶんくらい後悔こうかい」". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  7. ^ "「亀田かめだ興きょう毅あつしに勝かったら1000万まん円えん」AbemaTV史上しじょう最多さいたアクセスでサーバダウン". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  8. ^ "ビデオリサーチ、「『ホンネテレビ』視聴しちょう者しゃ207万まん人にん」リリース取とり下さげ トップページで謝罪しゃざい". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Cygamesは黒字くろじ133億おく円えん、AbemaTVは赤字あかじ191億おく円えん サイバーエージェント子会社こがいしゃ決算けっさんまとめ". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  10. ^ "AbemaTVが営業えいぎょう赤字あかじ200億おく円えんでもインターネットテレビの雄ゆうを狙ねらう理由りゆう". ダイヤモンド・オンライン (in Japanese). 28 February 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  11. ^ a b 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃインプレス (31 January 2019). "AbemaTVのプレミアム会員かいいんは35.8万まん人にん。オンデマンド比率ひりつは32%に". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  12. ^ 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃインプレス (25 February 2019). "AbemaTVが海外かいがいからの視聴しちょう対応たいおう。6カ国かこくでニュースや将棋しょうぎ、麻雀まーじゃん、釣つり". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  13. ^ 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃインプレス (30 January 2020). "AbemaTV有料ゆうりょう会員かいいんは59.3万まん人にんに増加ぞうか。オンデマンド視聴しちょう比率ひりつが上昇じょうしょう". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  14. ^ 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃインプレス (13 March 2020). "AbemaTVアプリが5,000万まんダウンロード突破とっぱ。4月11日にちで開局かいきょく4周年しゅうねん". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  15. ^ "アベマTV､巣すごもりで視聴しちょう者しゃ1400万まん人にん突破とっぱの訳わけ". 東洋とうよう経済けいざいオンライン (in Japanese). 26 May 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  16. ^ 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃインプレス (13 April 2020). "AbemaTVから「ABEMA」へ。藤田ふじた晋すすむ社長しゃちょうに聞きく4年間ねんかんの変化へんかとこれから【西田にしだ宗そう千佳ちかのRandomTracking】". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  17. ^ "MLB166試合しあいをABEMAが配信はいしんへ 120試合しあいは無料むりょう、プレミアムプランで46試合しあいを生なま中継ちゅうけい：中日ちゅうにちスポーツ・東京とうきょう中日ちゅうにちスポーツ". 中日ちゅうにちスポーツ・東京とうきょう中日ちゅうにちスポーツ (in Japanese). Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  18. ^ "MLB・大谷おおや翔しょう平たいらの活躍かつやくが最後さいごまで見みられる！ エンゼルスの全ぜん試合しあいをABEMAにて完全かんぜん中継ちゅうけい". Real Sound|リアルサウンド テック (in Japanese). 27 July 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  19. ^ "大谷おおや翔しょう平たいらの全ぜん試合しあいを完全かんぜん生せい中継ちゅうけい ABEMAがMLB公式こうしき戦せん324試合しあいを日本語にほんご実況じっきょうと解説かいせつ付つきで放送ほうそう：中日ちゅうにちスポーツ・東京とうきょう中日ちゅうにちスポーツ". 中日ちゅうにちスポーツ・東京とうきょう中日ちゅうにちスポーツ (in Japanese). Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  20. ^ 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃインプレス (22 March 2023). "ABEMA、MLB公式こうしき戦せん324試合しあいを生なま中継ちゅうけい。大谷おおや翔しょう平たいらやヌートバーも活躍かつやく". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  21. ^ TIMES編集へんしゅう部ぶ, ABEMA (16 November 2022). "「FIFA ワールドカップ カタール 2022」の全ぜん64試合しあい無料むりょう生せい中継ちゅうけいがABEMAで決定けってい | サッカー | ABEMA TIMES | アベマタイムズ". ABEMA TIMES. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  22. ^ "「過去かこ最大さいだいの投資とうし」──ABEMA責任せきにん者しゃが語かたるサッカーW杯はい放映ほうえい権けん獲得かくとくの舞台裏ぶたいうらと狙ねらい". ITmedia ビジネスオンライン (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  23. ^ "メディアフォーカス". NHK放送ほうそう文化ぶんか研究所けんきゅうじょ (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  24. ^ co., Ltd, FromOne (9 February 2023). "ABEMA、今季こんき残のこりのブンデスリーガ毎ごと節ぶし3試合しあいを生なま中継ちゅうけい 2月がつは堂どう安やす所属しょぞくフライブルク戦せんなど無料むりょう配信はいしん". サッカーキング (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  25. ^ "TVer認知にんち率りつ72%、収益しゅうえき化かは道みち半なかば 同時どうじ配信はいしん開始かいし1年ねん". 日本経済新聞にほんけいざいしんぶん (in Japanese). 11 April 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  26. ^ "博報堂はくほうどうDYメディアパートナーズ、生活せいかつ者しゃのメディア接触せっしょくの現状げんじょうを捉とらえる「メディア定点ていてん調査ちょうさ2023」時じ系列けいれつ分析ぶんせきの結果けっかを発表はっぴょう". 日本経済新聞にほんけいざいしんぶん (in Japanese). 23 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  27. ^ "メディア定点ていてん調査ちょうさ". 博報堂はくほうどうDYメディアパートナーズ メディア環境かんきょう研究所けんきゅうじょ (in Japanese). 25 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  28. ^ "インターネットテレビ局てれびきょく「AbemaTV」にて新あらたに「韓かん流りゅう・華はな流りゅうチャンネル」の開設かいせつが決定けってい | 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃサイバーエージェント". Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  29. ^ a b c 「AbemaTV」2周年しゅうねんで新しんアニメCHが爆ばく誕!! 独占どくせん&世界せかい最速さいそく視聴しちょうできるアニメ作品さくひん倍増ばいぞう 業界ぎょうかい初はつ・声優せいゆうMCによるレギュラー番組ばんぐみ 毎日まいにち生放送なまほうそう！新しんアニメCHの豪華ごうかラインナップ解禁かいきん | 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃサイバーエージェント
  30. ^ "「AbemaTV」にDiscoveryの新しんチャンネル『QUEST by Discovery』が開設かいせつ 5月がつ1日にち（水みず）より放送ほうそう開始かいし 日本にっぽん初はつ公開こうかいの番組ばんぐみも続々ぞくぞく登場とうじょう". CyberAgent. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  31. ^ Sonar Music (Monday to Thursday, 21:00 to 24:00) is distributed on AbemaGOLD Channel
  32. ^ "「AbemaTV」にて新あらたに「格闘かくとうチャンネル」の開設かいせつが決定けってい". CyberAgent. 27 July 2016. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  33. ^ "「SPORTSチャンネル」開設かいせつと「SOCCERチャンネル」「ヨコノリチャンネル」統合とうごうのお知しらせ | AbemaTV公式こうしきガイド". Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  34. ^ a b c "インターネットテレビ局てれびきょく「AbemaTV」が全ぜん世界せかいからの視聴しちょうに対応たいおう". CyberAgent. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  35. ^ "インターネットテレビ局てれびきょく「AbemaTV」にて新あらたに「将棋しょうぎチャンネル」を開設かいせつ 棋界きかいでもっとも格式かくしきと歴史れきしのある最高峰さいこうほうの棋戦きせん「名人めいじん戦せん」を生なま中継ちゅうけい | 株式会社かぶしきがいしゃサイバーエージェント". Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  36. ^ "「AbemaTV」が海外かいがいからの視聴しちょうに試験しけん対応たいおう". CyberAgent. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
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