PLUTO TV SECURES EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO “YU-GI-OH! VRAINS,” YU-GI-OH! AVOD CHANNEL

Cinedigm announced Pluto TV’s move to secure exclusive rights to “Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains” in various regions. The show will skip broadcast and other windows in the U.S., Latin America, and other areas for its debut on Pluto TV. “We are excited to bring this single channel dedicated solely to Yu-Gi-Oh! and making it easier than ever for longtime and new fans alike to access this world,” said Amy Kuessner, Senior Vice President of Content Strategy & Global. 

The anime series is the sixth of its kind to be created for the global franchise based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! collectible trading card game. The deal serves as a larger initiative to launch an exclusive Yu-Gi-Oh! branded channel on the TV platform. The service will roll the channel out later this month in the US, followed by LATAM. “We are pleased to partner with Pluto TV to release 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains' and the dedicated Yu-Gi-Oh! channel that will enable fans to enjoy many of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series,” said Mark Kirk, Senior Vice President of Digital Operations at Konami Cross Media NY, Inc.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! series have aired in more than 90 countries over the past two decades , recently landing on digital platforms such as Apple and Amazon Prime Video. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains" will be the first series in the franchise’s history to skip both U.S. broadcast and the traditional digital release windows, a move that According to Cinedigm’s Yolanda Macias, EVP Acquisitions and Digital Sales, the  “reflects the company’s ability to pivot easily with marketplace changes and disruptions to meet viewers’ needs.”

"Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains" is ranked 6th in Best 100 TV Anime at the 2019 Tokyo Anime Award Festival, showcasing a blend of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and high-speed dueling. The series follows a duelist named Playmaker who must team up with a trash-talking AI to stop a group of hackers bent on destroying the cyber world. Pluto TV’s dubs will feature all original music and effects scored for the Western market. “Yu-Gi-Oh!'s fandom is one of the most loyal and passionate in the world, and to be able to bring Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS to Pluto TV is both an incredible honor for us and a boon for viewers around the world, who can now stream this series for free,” said Kuessner.

Pluto TV’s Yu-Gi-Oh! channel will feature more than 650 episodes across five series, including “Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains,” “Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal,” “Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V,” “Yu-Gi-Oh! GX,” and “Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.” The global scale of the deal will allow for content to be released in multiple language dubs, facilitating wider viewership around the world.