Softbank Corp. has launched a new business to provide streaming video on the Net and will offer some 16,000 free titles on Yahoo Japan.
Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son said the firm plans to increase the amount of free content available in cyberspace to attract an audience of at least 40 million viewers in the near future.
The new service, made available Monday, is run by TV Bank Corp., a new company operated jointly by Softbank and subsidiary Yahoo Japan Corp. Softbank will hold 60 percent of the venture, with Yahoo owning the rest.
Visitors to the Yahoo Japan Streaming site can watch free content without registering. Revenue is to be generated by ads that will appear at the beginning of each show, including sports events, TV dramas and music clips.
In addition, the site will offer pay-per-view access to some 15,000 software titles, including Hollywood movies.
Softbank joined hands with more than 20 movie studios, Chinese and South Korean TV stations and other content providers to form the new business.
It is trying to get Japanese commercial TV broadcasters to participate in the site.