How do you sell video subscription bundles to young viewers who’ve never paid much attention to traditional cable programming? AT&T and the Chernin Group think they have the answer. The duo is getting ready to unveil a new video subscription bundle targeting viewers interested in anime, video games, niche action sports and other fare off the beaten path, Variety has learned.

The new platform is being developed by San Francisco-based Ellation, which is part of the Otter Media joint venture that AT&T and Chernin formed in 2014. One of Ellation’s key assets has been Crunchyroll, an anime video subscription service that has at least 800,000 paying subscribers.

The plan for the new platform is to combine Crunchyroll with other channels from outside partners, and sell it either as a set bundle or through a kind of a la carte model that mirrors Amazon’s recent video subscription efforts, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans.

No word yet on which streaming services Ellation would look to bundle Crunchyroll with, what the price of this bundle would be or what role AT&T will have in selling it. It is not expected to be rolled up together with linear networks currently in the traditional pay-TV bundle.

Another big competitor for the new service is Netflix, which has been licensing more anime content, and is even looking to produce original anime series, which could potentially become a threat for Crunchyroll. Part of the reason of bundling Crunchyroll with other services is to fend off such threats.

Read the full article at: variety.com

Read more on Crunchyroll’s OTT media strategies in this Q&A with Reid DeRamus, Marketing Lead at Ellation/Crunchyroll.