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This article was published on September 2, 2013

    Rakuten extends its focus on entertainment after buying Singapore-based video service Viki

    Rakuten extends its focus on entertainment after buying Singapore-based video service Viki Image by: Getty Images/iStockphoto
    Kaylene Hong
    Story by

    Kaylene Hong

    Kaylene Hong
    Story by

    Kaylene Hong

    Kaylene Hong was Asia Reporter for The Next Web between 2013 and 2014, based in Singapore. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Stay in Kaylene Hong was Asia Reporter for The Next Web between 2013 and 2014, based in Singapore. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Stay in touch via Twitter or Google+.

    Japanese e-commerce juggernaut Rakuten announced officially today that it has bought Singapore-based global video-streaming site Viki, which touts itself as the global version of Hulu and Netflix with its unique approach of crowdsourced subtitles.

    This latest move adds on to Rakuten’s entertainment arsenal — in 2011, it snapped up e-book firm Kobo and last year it bought Spain’s version of Netflix: streaming and video-on-demand company Wuaki.tv. This hints at the Japanese company’s ambition to go beyond e-commerce and branch out further into being a provider of digital content.

    Terms of the Rakuten-Viki deal were not disclosed, but AllThingsD pegs it at $200 million.

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    ➤ Exclusive: Japan’s Rakuten Acquires Viki Video Site for $200 Million [AllThingsD]

    Headline image via Thinkstock