Olivia Hinkin | Changing Methods of Anime Distribution within Convergence Culture

This thesis begins by investigating the different ways in which anime has been distributed in the past, focusing on television broadcasting and the DVD market in America and UK, compared with contemporary distribution methods such as internet streaming.

Much work has been conducted on fansubbing and piracy within the anime communities, but there has been little scholarly attention on the emerging official avenues that anime companies are starting to focus on to distribute their products. I will investigate whether these changing distribution methods are affecting the types of anime that get distributed in countries outside of Japan, and also whether internet communities for anime fandom play an integral role in the promotion of these online distribution methods.

With current debates around the future of illegal media sharing on the internet, anime is the perfect case study for how the industry is adapting to the changing internet landscape, attempting to address online piracy and how the future of television is taking shifts towards the internet. More generally, this research will contribute to our understanding of issues of monopoly and control within global television distribution. Specifically, as it pertains to U.S. control of popular foreign content.

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After graduating from Royal Holloway, University of London in Film and Television in 2013, Olivia Hinkin went on to study for an MA in Film, Television and Cultural Studies at Birkbeck, graduating 2014. Her current research brings together her fascination with Japanese culture and her passion for television studies. She is undertaking her current research with a studentship from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.