This page is a supplementary resource for my post on watching East Asian TV legally:
Dedicated Streaming Platforms (detailed breakdown)
User-friendly and virus-free, these five trusted services with licensing agreements with broadcasters cater to those looking for specific shows or doing general browsing:
Logo by Viki, Inc. via Viki
Viki
- What is it?
- free-to-stream model with volunteer-generated subtitles
- two tiers of premium service with the purchase of a Viki Pass ($4.17-$9.99/month)
- Which programs are available?
- Dramas, and variety shows and news programs from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan
- Bonus: Asian movies, Viki Original productions, music videos, Youtuber partnerships
- Pros
- Community-driven content catering to casual and hardcore fans
- Plenty of discussion opportunities within the large userbase
- Subtitles are available in over 150 languages, depending on the show
- User-generated subtitles update in real-time; you can choose to watch a 23% subtitled episode
- Cons
-
- Limited range of programming from countries that are not South Korea
- Feature-loaded interface may be overwhelming at first
- Non-paying users experience
- Ad interruptions
- Delayed access to airing shows
- Medium video quality at the best
Logo by DramaFever Corp. via DramaFever
DramaFever
- What is it?
- One of the first platforms to market and popularize Korean dramas in North America
- History and large userbase allow them to obtain exclusive distribution deals for some popular dramas
- Expanded to include other Asian tv shows and even Latin telenovas
- Premium memberships vary from $4.16-$8.33/month
- Which programs are available?
- Dramas and variety shows from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan
- Bonus: Asian movies, K-pop section with concerts and award shows
- Pros
- Everything offered on the site will have English subtitles
- Has all of the most popular shows available
- Spanish and Portuguese subtitles can be found on most videos
- Cons
- Limited range of programming from countries that are not South Korea
- Relatively long delay for subtitles
- Non-paying users
- Ad interruptions
- Delayed access to airing shows
- Medium video quality at the best
Logo by ODK Media Inc. via OnDemandKorea
OnDemandKorea
- What is it?
- A relatively new site that provides exclusively Korean content, but without the frills of the above two sites in terms of user engagement
- Typical free-to-stream VOD service with a premium paid service (ODK PLUS membership at $6.99/month)
- Which programs are available?
- Dramas, variety shows and news programs from Korea
- Bonus: Korean kids programming, movies, documentaries, web-only series
- Pros
- Quick uploads
- Keeps a daily schedule of airing shows accessible through ODK
- Quick English subtitling
- Cons
- Only a select few popular airing shows are subtitled in English
- Limited variety of older programming and recently-airing dramas
- Non-paying users
- Ad interruptions
- Delayed access to airing shows
- Medium video quality at the best
Logo by Netflix, Inc. via Netflix
Netflix
- What is it?
- Nothing to explain here, but Netflix has upped their game in the “International TV” section.
- Which programs are available?
- Dramas, variety shows and cartoons from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong
- Bonus: Netflix Originals (primarily Japanese productions so far, but a Korean variety show with veterans and other high-profile celebrities are in the works), other Asian programming (Singaporean, Malaysian, etc.)
- Pros
- Popular service that you may already pay for
- Reliable cross-platform access and design
- Cons
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- Pay-to-use
- Licensing agreements appear to end quickly with shows disappearing constantly
- Limited variety of programming from countries that are not South Korea
- Weird internationalized/English translations of program titles
- Questionable subtitles at times
- excessive localization, depending on your preferences
- Difficult to discover through purely browsing, since only Korean TV has its own category/section
Logo and tagline by Crunchyroll, Inc. via Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
- What is it?
- Started out as any other illegal fan-subbed video-hosting site
- Now the biggest legal gateway to anime for those outside East Asia
- Free-to-stream
- 2-tiers of premium membership ($6.95-$11.95/month)
- Which programs are available?
- Japanese animation/cartoons
- Random selection of Japanese dramas and Korean and Chinese movies
- Pros
- Biggest legally-acquired collection of anime on the internet
- Relatively quick English subtitling
- Cons
- Questionable subtitles at times
- Non-paying users
- Limited catalogue (popular completed shows are often locked)
- Ad interruptions
- Delayed access to airing shows
- Medium video quality at the best
Official Youtube Channels
Korea
Logo by Korean Broadcasting System via KBS World
- KBS World TV
- KBS World is available globally via terrestrial, satellite, cable and IP TV
- Golden standard for any TV station trying to reach international audiences online: full-length English-subtitled episodes of popular airing dramas and variety shows with a 1-2 week delay
Other official youtube channels:
-
- South Korea’s major networks (public and paid)
- clips and trailers of airing shows are posted
- very rarely with English subtitles
China
Screenshot captured on 9/25/2017 via Youtube
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- Random hour-long videos with Chinese titles in the trending section of Youtube? ⇒ It’s now the trend for the overseas Chinese to keep up with their favourite shows through Youtube.
- There are thousands of stations in China, but those linked-above are some of the most popular ones
- Full-length programs are usually promptly uploaded
- Some popular shows may have their own separate channel.
- No English subtitles provided; fluency in Mandarin would help
Japan
I guess I can’t watch that 16 sec preview of 雑学王 (Zatsugaku King)
Screenshot capture on 9/25/2017 via Youtube
- NHK, TBS, NTV, TV Asahi, Fuji TV, TV Tokyo, WOWOW
- TV networks in Japan mostly use their channels for promotional purposes
- Some channels block viewers outside Japan from most/all of their videos
- but if you are willing to go through the hassle, expect nothing more than trailers/advertisements (which can be useful for finding new things to watch)
English-language Networks
These are the government-funded stations that target English-speakers in their respective countries, whether it be expats or short-stay visitors. Expect a lot of culture-promoting content and news reporting. They may not be what most locals watch, but there’s always something new to learn from these informational channels.
China: CGTN
(formerly known as CCTV English)
Japan: NHK World
- Livestream
- VOD (recent episodes only)
- Youtube
East Asian TV 