Posted in: Anime, TV | Tagged: The Anime Business

The Anime Business Ep. 13 Spotlights John O'Donnell/Central Park Media

The Anime Business concludes a 3-part interview with John O'Donnell of Central Park Media on the role he played in bringing anime to America.

AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD have released the latest episode of The Anime Business on YouTube featuring Part 3 of a far-ranging trio of interviews with John O'Donnell, the former Managing Director of Central Park Media (CPM). O'Donnell is one of the founding fathers of the North American anime industry. His company, Central Park Media (CPM), was among the first to license, dub, and distribute anime home media for domestic audiences. He's as honest, candid, and funny about his career as can be.

Viewers can stream previous episodes of The Anime Business, including Parts One and Two interview segments with O'Donnell. In the concluding installment, he reminisces about the major changes that occurred in the early to mid-2000s, which began to affect the market and the wider industry. By this time, several companies were well established in North America, including ADV, Manga Entertainment, Pioneer/Geneon, and Central Park Media. During this era, he notes that licensing fees varied widely, as well as the types of titles being distributed. "Tier 1" titles often sold upward of 100,000 units but were massively expensive to license. "Tier 2" titles were less well-known but cheaper to acquire and very profitable at CPM, even with smaller production runs.

O'Donnell also recalls how cash flow influenced every business decision. Anime and manga initially had humble retail roots, stocked primarily by small, independent stores. By the early 2000s, major chains such as Musicland, Suncoast Video, TransWorld, and Borders dominated the retail landscape. At one point, Musicland accounted for 30% of Central Park Media's anime sales. O'Donnell recalls the constant challenge of maintaining revenue to cover payroll and operating expenses as he navigated national retailers that regularly delayed payments and offered excuses, often creating a myriad of issues for CPM's cash flow.

When the financial crisis hit in 2008, many of these retailers folded, eventually leading to CPM's closure later that year. Other notable anime companies, such as ADV, Manga Entertainment, and Pioneer, also folded. But O'Donnell looks back on the undeniable impact he had on popularizing and commercializing anime, the brand he created, and the strong reputation Central Park Media still retains among both fans and fellow industry players.

The Anime Business: An Essential Documentary Series

The Anime Business is a first-of-its-kind series featuring a wide range of entrepreneurs and visionaries who helped to pioneer and shape the North American anime and manga industries. It is produced and hosted by industry veteran and MediaOCD founder, as well as AnimEigo CEO, Justin Sevakis. Episodes 1-12 of The Anime Business and bonus clips are also now available to stream on the AnimeEigo YouTube channel.

All episodes of The Anime Business are available in English. Japanese subtitles are also available via a special grant from the Kleckner Foundation. Additional episodes and interviews are currently in production.  AnimEigo and MediaOCD invite fans who would like to help support and crowdfund future episodes of The Anime Business to donate.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!