LINE Tech Plus teams with Theta Network to launch video service targeting Asia market
LINE Tech Plus, a subsidiary of LINE Corporation of Japan, is teaming up with Theta Network to launch “THETA.tv for LINK”, a new video service targeted to Japan. The mobile app is fully powered by Theta’s protocol infrastructure along with LINE Blockchain, a proprietary blockchain network built to foster stronger relationships between users and service providers in the LINE ecosystem.
LINE is the most popular Japanese instant messenger app with more than 200 million users in key markets of Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and growing quickly in other parts of Asia. Run by LINE Corporation, the publicly-traded Japanese subsidiary of Korea’s NAVER Corporation, it boasts more than 130M Daily Active Users highlighting how integral the LINE app is to everyday life. LINE offers a suite of other features including LINE Pay which lets users send money peer-to-peer and used for retail purchases, LINE Taxi to order taxis and food delivery, and LINE MUSIC which is a service like Spotify or Apple Music.
THETA.tv for LINK users will earn token rewards by sharing their bandwidth while watching premium esports, film, and crypto content, and can subscribe to streamers and donate to them just like in other Theta Network apps. TFUEL earned through the app will be automatically converted to the LINK Reward on LINE Blockchain, allowing Japanese content creators to seamlessly use LINK tokens at Japanese exchanges and other platforms where LINK is accepted. THETA.tv for LINK will be advertised in the LINE messenger app, allowing easy access to existing LINE users.
“Our strategic collaboration with LINE is another big step towards global adoption of the Theta Network,” said Mitch Liu, CEO and co-founder of Theta Labs. “Being seamlessly integrated in the LINE messenger app introduces millions of users to the power of Theta blockchain, to share their bandwidth while watching the content they love. This brings unprecedented reach to our premium content from partners like MGM, CONtv Anime, NASA, FailArmy and World Poker Tour.”
The launch of THETA.tv for LINK is another step in Theta’s strategy for expansion in Japan and beyond. Earlier this year, Theta Labs tapped gumi Cryptos, an early Theta supporter and operator of an Enterprise Validator Node on Theta Network, to lead efforts to bring Theta to Japan. One of the first steps of that is completing the process of whitelisting THETA and TFUEL tokens with Japan’s Financial Services Agency regulator, a prerequisite to exchange listing in Japan. Theta’s broader Asia strategy also includes the THETA.tv Korea app launched last year in conjunction with Klaytn, a subsidiary of Kakao.
