DramaHeroine

I get shutting it down so that time and resources could go into their new streaming platform. Still don't like it, but I at least understand the reason. But doing it this way, without any notice to anyone, was completely unnecessary. Give people at least a month's notice so they can marathon some dramas and refunds could have been more properly handled. What makes it worse is that news came today or yesterday that another niche streaming site AT&T owns (focused on classic films) is officially shutting down in a month, so I'm entirely confused as to why they couldn't give us Dramafever users the same courtesy. I wouldn't have supported their new streaming platform even if they Had given us fair notice, because AT&T is a terrible company. But Come On, guys. Get your ish together.

I sincerely hope that their new media platform is unsuccessful, because they don't deserve our business.

Ah, that sucks.

Glad you got your refund. I've been worried that people weren't going to get their money back.

Dramafever is owned by AT&T. AT&T plans to build it's own competitor to Netflix, so they're shutting down the streaming sites they currently own. That's why Dramafever was shut down. Since Viki is owned by someone else entirely, there's currently no need to worry about this happening to them as well.

It sounds like Viki is trying to get ahold of some of Dramafever's licenses as well, so I wonder if there might be a bit of a bidding war happening?

You're welcome.

Apparently, Kocowa tried to create a joint deal with Dramafever initially (I assume similar to Viki), and Dramafever said no. Someone high up in Kocowa said that in one of the articles on Dramafever shutting down.

Yes, I understand that. My point is AT&T has the money to buy the licenses. They just would rather put that money somewhere else. In this case, their upcoming media platform.

It's not exactly walking away from the market, cause I'm sure they'll have Asian dramas on their Netflix competitor site, but it's doubtful that they will put a very heavy focus on them

Well, On Demand Korea is advertising that they will be picking up a bunch of these dramas now that Dramafever is gone, so here's hoping they're telling the truth and it's soon.

It looks like licenses for these dramas are going, or very soon will go, to other streaming sites.

It looks like On Demand Korea will be picking up this drama but not sure when.

Hey, it could be you. I mean, someone had to start This website, didn't they? I didn't mean to discredit your passion for dramas, because I think that is valid and important, and I hope you don't feel stupid for offering up the suggestion/idea. You're not stupid for wanting to do something, and I totally understand how you feel. I wish I had all of those skills and things so that I could do something about it too. I just think it's important to understand that starting a business takes a lot of work and know-how and money, and you have to be prepared for that.

Ugh. That makes me even more mad.

They didn't know. It came out of nowhere for them just like it did for us.

The problem with that breakdown is that Dramafever is owned by AT&T/Time Warner, so Dramafever itself doesn't really pay for the licensing. It's ultimately AT&T/Time Warner's money.

So I'm assuming this is a serious proposition, and I have a few questions: What is your degree in? Have you taken any business classes? Do you know how to build a website? Do you have the financial backing to acquire licenses for dramas? Have you come up with a step-by-step plan on how to make this a reality? Do you know anyone who is willing to work on this with you? Do you have any bargaining skills? I'm not saying this to discourage you, because I want someone to do this. But these are important things that need to be thought through when working on a venture like this, and you're not going to be able to expect people to give you their money without answering these questions first. If you're Go Fund Me is simply 'I want to make a new Asian drama site,' but you don't demonstrate that you have the skills to create it or a plan of making it happen, people are not going to give it a second glance. And even if you do have a plan and people are willing to donate, you are not going to bring in enough donations to actually license any dramas. It will probably take a long time before you are financially able to actually purchase anything. Are you willing to spend potentially years getting such a venture off the ground? Again, this isn't meant to discourage. I want someone to take this challenge on. But it can't be out of an emotional 'We have to do something about this!' battle cry. There needs to be intensive thought and planning put into it if you want it to succeed. So here's the Big question: Are you prepared for that?

Caught offguard. I was a volunteer for the site, and we worked closely with a couple of the employees. Talked to one of them earlier this week, and she said she'd actually had her hours bumped up just last week, then she came in Monday, started her day, and Boom. They were all let go. And yeah, ATT knew. They were apparently already taking articles down from the site over a week ago.

I'm looking for a replacement for TvN and jTBC stuff too. And I'm sorry, but I don't consider Netflix a good replacement. They aren't posting currently airing dramas as they air. They're waiting literal months before putting them on the site. I hoped to watch Age of Youth 2 on their site, but they never uploaded it, so I watched it on one of the illegal sites instead, because I wanted to watch along with Korean viewers. Then months later I check back, and there it is. I would have understood if they needed to wait a few days (even a week) after the original airing to upload so they can get subtitles done, but months later? Not a fan. I appreciate Netflix adding lots of Asian dramas, but they don't understand the Asian drama viewer.