VIZ Media has announced the launch of Neon Alley, a 24-hour anime channel featuring the world’s best titles (dubbed in English and uncut), exclusively on the PlayStationNetwork and the PlayStation3 (PS3) system.
Ken Sasaki, President and Chief Executive Officer for Viz Media looks at the launch as a landmark event for fans of anime.
Neon Alley combines the appointment viewing and joy of discovery of traditional broadcast TV with the ease of subscribing to a dedicated anime channel. Fans will find all of their favorite series alongside the best of the best new series they didn’t even know they were missing!
The channel laucnhed this week and the Neon Alley application can be downloaded from PlayStation Network. The subscription-based service will be available for $6.99 per month. For a limited time only, a one-week free trial will be available for fans who sign up at NeonAlley.com.
Neon Alley’s schedule includes a mix of action, adventure, sci-fi, supernatural, fantasy, and horror anime, uncut and dubbed into English, and presented in HD when it’s available. At launch, Neon Alley will premiere weekly exclusive episodes of Blue Exorcist, Inuyasha: The Final Act, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, and Tiger & Bunny. Fans can catch their favorite blockbuster anime from the beginning, including Death Note, Naruto Shippuden, One Piece, Vampire Knight and more. The critically acclaimed Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I – The Egg of The King will also debut in October. Future premieres include Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-Ne and Zetman. Viewers can easily find out what’s showing on Neon Alley with an electronic program guide showing the schedule for the week ahead.
Neon Alley is the first platform designed to be studio agnostic, featuring titles from other anime producers and content distributors, including Aniplex, FUNimation, NTV, Taiseng, Anime News Network, and Empire Distribution. Members can also share real-time thoughts and status updates using social media technology from Tout (Tout.com), some of which will air on the network. Neon Alley will continue to unveil more of its programming lineup, special offers, new acquisitions and other partnerships throughout the next several months.
VIZ Media has announced that it has expanded its relationship with the digital reading platform, OverDrive. An impressive collection of newly added digital manga titles by some of the genre’s most popular and renowned creators are now available at participating public and school libraries in the United States and Canada on the platform.
