This past summer, Viz Media announced Neon Alley, a subscription-based, 24-hour anime network for PlayStation 3, which will bring uncut, English-dub anime premieres to the device. Additionally, Neon Alley will also air original news content and behind-the-scenes features on various manga and anime.
Neon Alley is being explored by Viz as a solution to help offset the obstacles related to broadcasting on cable networks, which appear to be generally disinterested in anime shows at present. Nerdist caught up with Viz Media’s Vice President of Animation, Brian Ige, to ask a couple of questions about how the service will function.
Ige reveals that Neon Alley will function like a regular TV channel, with a set schedule. “No matter when you tune in, there will always be cool content that we curate on the schedule,” he says. “We are listening to consumer feedback and taking it all into consideration as we develop the next phase of Neon Alley—there is definitely more to come!”
In the past, Ige stated in a separate interview that Neon Alley is meant to reach out to more casual anime fans, who he believes overlap with gamers. This is why dubbed content is being offered on Neon Alley, while VIZ Anime will continue to feature subtitled content simulcast from Japan.
