AT&T, Chernin Group’s Ellation Plans Subscription Video Bundle Led By Crunchyroll

Ellation is putting together a new package for its user base. The digital video brand, which is part of AT&T and Chernin Group co-venture Otter Media, will soon roll out a bundle of subscription video on-demand (SVOD) services, according to a report by Variety.

While Ellation has not officially announced the upcoming service, Variety’s report notes multiple domain registrations suggest its name will be Vrv. At this point, the only SVOD service known to be part of Vrv is Crunchyroll, an anime destination that recently landed a $22 million investment from Otter Media. The goal, as Variety puts it, will be to pair Crunchyroll with other services that appeal to the same demographic groups. Beyond anime, categories Ellation will reportedly target include video games and extreme sports.

There are two major components of Vrv that are not known at this time. The first and most basic question is whether the platform will be sold as a single bundle, a la digital cable services like Sling TV

, or whether it will emulate Amazon’s recently-launched SVOD product by allowing subscribers to pick and choose the services they want.

Secondly, beyond Crunchyroll, there aren’t a lot of clues about the services that will be included in Vrv. Ellation’s other known holding is the crafts destination Creativebug, which doesn’t seem like it would hit the audience Vrv is aiming for. Another Otter Media property is Fullscreen, which recently launched its own SVOD platform. That destination is a more likely candidate to be included in Vrv in some capacity.

We’ll learn the answers to these shortly. Variety notes that Ellation could announce Vrv as early as this month and could launch the platform before the end of the year.