The dramaworld was shocked this morning when they awoke to the news that the streaming company Dramafever was closing its doors for good. Come join us as we discuss the whys, the hows, the rumors, and what our feelings are regarding the whole huge mess.
What happened to DF?
Karie the Maknae: Here’s what I understand–DramaFever was solo until 2016, when it either went into partnership with or was bought by Warner Bros. Fast forward to last summer, when AT&T acquired TimeWarner to create WarnerMedia. Last week, AT&T started acting on this merger and its desires to create an AT&T streaming service to rival Netflix by pouncing on DramaFever. Today, October 16th, they shut down DramaFever, fired 1/3 of the staff, and cut off our access to dramas effective immediately. No warning. The black screen of death that is now DramaFever promises a future email explaining everything, and possible refunds. We’ll see.
Kdrama Jen: Not wanting to believe it, I called, emailed, Facebooked, Tweeted, and called in a favor from a friend in Manhattan to try to figure out why the first streaming service I ever committed to had such cryptic messages on its site. I received a politely worded form letter asking me to please be patient. I have been a paying member since they opened their doors. Haven’t they learned by now that I am NOT patient? I once clicked refresh 47 times in an hour as I waited for Healer episodes to post.
Rumors VS Fact
Rumors
Two days ago, Dramafever viewers started getting messages that their ongoing shows were being postponed and would be up soon. What did this mean? Why would they do this to us? Don’t they know things were just getting good on Hundred Days My Prince? Rumors started running rampant as everyone started guessing as to what was happening. It even got its own fun hashtag: #DFCon. Little did we know that this was a sign of the end. Makes me kind of wish they really had been hacked like everyone was guessing.
Kmuse: With as popular as Korean & Chinese dramas are with today’s international viewers, I am a bit shocked that they chose to close the door to this site. Back when they lost all their content, thanks to Kocowa, I would have understood. However, in the last month, they had really started getting their groove back. They bought the rights to a ton of new Korean and Chinese content. Things looked like they were going good in the Dramaverse.
MiataMama: There were SO many new dramas starting on DramaFever, this past month! I was beginning to feel like my yearly subscription wasn’t going to waste anymore. So yesterday, I was a little put out when I realized my M/T dramas weren’t getting subbed. But I was trying to be patient. The rumors of a subber strike or a server hacking were things that I was confident I could calmly wait out. Little did I know…
Kdrama Jen: To be honest, if this had happened a few months ago I would have barely noticed. I wasn’t watching too many things on this site. However, with the recent crop of new dramas, I had five different shows I was watching exclusively on Drama Fever. How am I supposed to get my D.O. fix now?
Fact
Instead of a small blip in our drama watching schedule, it turned into a giant asteroid of doom as we lost all the legal options for watching hundreds of dramas, including the currently airing Beauty Inside, Hundred Days My Prince, and Devilish Joy.
Kmuse: I am so upset right now I can barely type. This is going down as a dark day in my life.
Karie the Maknae: DramaFever was my gateway into Kdramaland. I can hardly believe this is happening and in a such an unprofessional way. It’s ridiculous.
MiataMama: I have been living for the new episodes of Devilish Joy to come out every week. Two weeks, only four episodes left, until it was to be finished. I am absolutely STUNNED by their lack of warning and/or consideration for their viewers. Couldn’t we have at least had until the end of the month DramaFever?!?
Kdrama Jen: I think I am most upset by the way this was handled. It’s like we were in this committed relationship, maybe we had our ups and downs, but we we always stood by one another. I mean, I went to the first Drama Fever Awards show. I continued my subscription even when subs were not working on my phone. I have BEEN THERE for you, Drama Fever. But now? It feels like we were hanging out at our favorite BBQ place, and you just snuck out a back window, leaving me with questions and the bill.
What does this mean for the future of kdramas?
To be honest, I think that this will only be a small blip in the future of dramas. Now that the international community has shown that they are willing to pay for content, people will come forward to provide it. That might mean that we will be watching more shows on Kocowa, Netflix, or Viki in the future. And for some, it might mean checking a few of the less legal sites. But regardless of where fans watch, the drama love isn’t disappearing anytime soon.
Kmuse: Asian countries have started promoting their shows heavily worldwide. I don’t see that stopping anytime soon, especially when big players such as Netflix are helping produce some of the content. It might just take a few months for things to settle back into a new status quo.
Karie the Maknae: I think Kmuse has it right–it’s not like international drama fans are going anywhere. Last I checked, DF had 4.8 million FB followers, which translates into serious ka-ching for WarnerMedia if they play their cards right. The way they’re treating current fans with this no-notice shutdown, however, doesn’t bode well.
MiataMama: I’m seriously hoping this isn’t the beginning of the end for other Asian drama platforms. *cough Viki cough* I don’t even want to contemplate a life without K-Drama.
Kmuse: Sadly, that does mean we won’t be finishing our Beauty Inside chatty recap any time soon. That makes me so sad since that show is so much fun to chat about.
Clkytta: Not the chatty recap! Don’t these people know not to mess with the fangirls! I need my kbestie drama time!
Kdrama Jen: No worries. We still have this AWESOME 70-episode Chinese drama on Netflix. Maybe the rest of you want to join Kmuse and me? Rise of Phoenixes is pretty awesome! But, seriously, as a drama watcher from before the days of any of these very convenient streaming sites, I have complete faith that there will always be a way to feed our obsession.
What are The Fangirls doing to cope?
Kmuse: I might be finding my content in some of the less than legal sites. I am also watching a lot of Viki. At least they are still up and running (knock on wood) and providing me with a strong drama fix. This also might be the push I need to catch up on some of my longer Chinese dramas. Those 70-episode shows take some serious commitment and Kdramas kept getting in the way.
Karie the Maknae: I’ve been saying for a while now that I need to catch up on some older dramas. I guess now’s my chance! As long as they weren’t exclusive to DF, that is.
MiataMama: Thankfully I’ve got several currently airing shows I’m watching on Viki. In fact, this seems the perfect time to catch up on Master in the House— I could REALLY use some funny to cheer me up, right about now.
Clkytta: I’m so sad!! I’ve been incredibly loyal to DramaFever over the years and I feel betrayed! Dramafever has been my go-to site for years and right now 95% of what I’m watching was there. So now I have to figure out what I was watching and where to find it. I liked that Dramafever used professional subs and that most of the time I could depend on those subs to be posted when they were supposed to be. I’m bereft guys, super sad and annoyed beyond belief.
Kdrama Jen: It turns out I have a FOURTH child! Who knew? OK, all kidding aside, I have subscriptions to Viki, Kocowa, Hulu, Netflix, Verve, and Vlive. I have PLENTY to watch. I am annoyed that shows I am currently watching have come to a screeching halt, but there is always a way…
Refunds
According to Dramafever, they will be contacting those that are owed a refund through email. So be sure to check your email in the upcoming weeks and if you don’t see anything, send them a quick email. My guess is they won’t be dealing at this for very long. Especially if you consider the horrible customer service they showed when everything was happening in the last 2 days.
Kmuse: I have around 3 months left on my year subscription and I hope I am getting a refund. I saw people complaining that they had their subscriptions renewed this week which I think is horrible. This can’t be something that suddenly happened overnight, so the fact that they still charged people is really crappy.
Karie the Maknae: My monthly bill for DF was always charged on the 6th, so that means that I was just charged 10 days ago. I know it’s not much–$5 is pretty much a drop in the bucket–but it’s still MY money. I want to be treated fairly for the investment I made.
MiataMama: Like Kmuse, I’ve got about 3 more months left on my subscription. We shall just have to wait and see how well they process all the refunds.
Clkytta: I paid monthly so I’m not out much. Of course, my payment drafted the day before the shutdown.
Kdrama Jen: I moved to a monthly subscription with DF last year, so it isn’t a huge loss for me, but it did just renew a couple of days ago.
Final Thoughts:
Kmuse: When it comes down to it I don’t think I will miss Dramafever as a company that much. I was constantly having problems with their various services and most of their new content (with the exception of the last month) was mediocre. What really upsets me is how the company went around closing. They didn’t give people notice or the ability to prepare and binge the last of their shows. They didn’t respond at all and treated loyal customers like trash. Sadly, it is this that I will remember the most and not all the many years they provided drama watchers a place to view their shows.
Karie the Maknae: Kmuse said it perfectly. I subscribe to Viki and Kocowa in addition to DF to catch all the airing dramas, and I found that I turned to DF last. They weren’t terribly responsive to any inquiries, which makes how this all went down less surprising, now that the shock is wearing off. Now I’m just going to have to be patient as I wait for the DF dramas I was watching to show up elsewhere.
MiataMama: I had been using DramaFever to watch K-dramas since I first fell down the rabbit-hole 7 years ago. I locked in my annual subscription back before they started with the price hikes, so I didn’t mind too much as the new content ebbed and flowed. Never had any serious issues with my dramas being difficult to watch. (And they never went on the warpath to block my VPN like other video platforms – Ahem, I’m looking at you Netflix and Hulu). So I’m extremely saddened by the death of DramaFever and will need some time to mourn the loss of access to so many shows.
Clkytta: I’m just going to pout that all my dramas are on hold. Now I need to make an actual list of what I was watching. I just looked at my list on DF most of the time. I do have Viki, so I’m sure I’ll find something to watch.
Kdrama Jen: As the resident optimist and researcher of alternative pathways (Karie the Maknae probably would say “rule breaker”), I have no doubt I will find a way. The Internet is full of possibilities. Do not fret, dear readers. We will continue to bring you chatty recaps, first impressions, geeky drama interest stories, and other Hallyu content you have come to expect as readers of Dramas with a Side of Kimchi. Farewell, Drama Fever. Thank you for the memories, but we will be just fine without you.
What are your feelings on the Dramageddon? Were you as blindsided as we were? Share your thoughts in the comments. We hope that we can provide a safe place where we can all get through this latest trial together.
Sincerely,
The Fangirls
Dramas with a Side of Kimchi
I used to read articles on drama fever. Never paid anything as I can only watch for free. Anyway now those who pay to watch dramas will go for Viki or viu. Although this doesn’t affect me but when I was first watching so many random kdramas on YouTube I found out about on air kdramas through drama fever and my first on air drama was Cinderella and four knights which turned out pretty bad later. Anyway, I don’t think I will ever forget the name that is ‘dramafever’ but that’s okay. I hope they come up it with something good.
This came as an unpleasant surprise to me, and in the form of an email that implied I had canceled my subscription and they were sorry to see me go! Pretty crappy, especially considering that I was a beta user and subscriber from year one. I had a few dramas in progress and countless more bookmarked for future viewings and it makes me sad to think that I can’t go back and revisit older dramas (Goblin, anyone?) that were DF exclusives, or just not on other sites.
Years ago I used to get bootleg DVDs of dramas from a source in Singapore and my friends used to trade them and copy them, stockpiling them against a rainy nightmare day when we’d have no access even to that. I know the streaming market has become very diluted, and the fact that Netflix has deep pockets and is disrupting the market further, but please let me not have to revert to illegal sites again!
Robin – at least you got an email. I got the screen of death last night in the middle of catching up on Devilish Joy. Get this – I just posted my opinion at https://www.facebook.com/WarnerMediaGroup/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARCIAwOBvWm02a8dxWa6dzENWj_DfXGrGKCBK1UfsMPPm7kFDP9DgFvV4raMZmsSmFor8VjBqEKEwqcd and they deleted all of my posts this morning. Guess they did not like me asking if they did any market research to understand the fan base. Sad day today.
The Variety article said that they deleted all Dramafever videos on YouTube yesterday — this was such a scourged and salted earth approach to shutting down! It’s not like having those videos on YouTube cost them anything! I’m not happy, no I’m not. Did you get an email later in the day?
Robin – I did not receive that message of doom like others reported receiving. I followed a link some dear person posted in FB for contacting DF and the page actually came up so I sent them a request for information about my refund. Just got a standardized auto reply saying they would answer my question later,. It seems so wrong to not even let us access our billing page as I have no idea when I paid to see what kind of refund would be coming my way.
I think we are not the only unhappy fans out there. FB is hopping with folks posting their thoughts are they are just as unhappy as we are. This fan base is full of amazing people. The good thing is that there are a lot of alternatives being posted (not many are getting past my MacAfee safeguards though) but to my knowledge only Viki streams through Fire Stick. I do not know what I would do if I did not already have an ongoing subscription with Viki,
I have tried to join Kocowo since last night but it just spins its wheels – my guess is maybe they are getting bombarded with new sign ups. There are a lot of us out here and we are kind of passionate so it would not surprise me.
I was emotionally attached to DF and have watched it for many years. It was so easy and I was willing to look past its faults. It kinds hurts to see it treated this way.
I was emotionally attached too to DramaFever, as you were, and was a beta user and subscriber, loyal even when there were hiccups on the site and they stopped updating my Smart TV app (I just bought a Roku stick instead).
I’m sure people are flocking to Kocowa (how else will they get there So Ji-sub fix?), so I’ll take a note and not frustrate myself with trying to sign up myself for a week or so. It’s almost as if WB execs put in a side investment into Viki and Kocowa (cuz you know they sure as hell didn’t buy Netflix stock!)
I am most curious to see what happens to ongoing contracts, such as for “Beauty Inside” from JTBC, and legacy ones, such as with tvN for “Goblin.” Will WB hoard those until they launch their purported Netflix competitor in 2019 (if that ever happens), or will they cut deals and set that content free to be enjoyed? I really HATE the idea that I can’t rewatch some favorites almost as much as I hate the idea that good new content is locked up.
BTW, they bailed on Twitter too as of late last night. Cowardly corporate weasels!
I feel sorry for the employees and the cruddy way the company treated their customers. DramaFever was my gateway to dramas since near the end of 2012. My very first Kdrama – Nice Guy. My sister and i even attended the Drama Fever awards in Manhattan years ago. The content ebbed and flowed for me later and I barely watched DF. So I dropped it last year. I felt something was in the air for a while before then, as they were stocking up on mostly cheaper web dramas and C-dramas, which I’m not much into. But like you said, they’d suddenly gotten a lot of new Kdrama content this year. And now POOF! It’s gone. It’s sad.
I’m currently subscribed to Viki and Kocowa as a separate platform. I’m content with them and those other means of watching for now.
Yes, i also went to bed hoping that it was a dream. I had just returned to dramafever paying the nearly 60.00 annual yearly fee at the end of August. Only to open up dramafever to watch 100 days my prince and see the screen of death. I thought it was a joke because earlier in the day I had gotten an email reply from their customer service when I asked about the delay in the avaibility of 100 days and the rep promised that episodes would be up shortly. I cant imagine what is going on behind the scenes. I also feel really badly for the rep who emailed me. I cant help but think the employees themselves were unaware of what happened. All i can say is For Shame!! Warner Media. Shame on you!
This is so sad… it’s like the end of an era. I started watching on DF 4 years ago… when I first started dramas. It’s like seeing a friend go…
I’m frustrated, sad and annoyed.
Plus, how will I finish 100 Days My Prince?!
Seriously! I had to find a very creative way to get my 100 Day Hottie fix. Luckily, I have friends willing to help a gal out.
I’m livid with DF; so rude and unprofessional! Everytime I watch an illegal site, my laptop gets weird messages…I can’t risk them. So 100 Days My Prince…forever stuck at what, episode 10? And Terrius? This just isn’t right. Really, really not right.
I found Terrius on Kocowa, so at least there’s that!
So sad, I’ll miss DF. It’s a terrible way to treat loyal subscribers. Couldn’t they have given us warning? Those subscribers won’t look favourably upon your new offerings AT&T/TimeWarner. I won’t forget this!
This was not good customer service. Don’t they realize it is not a good idea to tick off the drama watching community? We watch shows about people who remember odd little interactions with their first love when they were children. We don’t forget! Unless we get amnesia…
Well I’m thoroughly pissed and I can assure you WarnerMedia will never get a dime from me! My subscription was paid just last month for the entire year and I just looked in my mailbox and guess what I received? A cancellation notice!!! How’s that for a refund?! Once again DF screwed me! They screwed me before and I shouldn’t have expected anything less this time. Well, I’ll continue with Kocowa and Netflix (been with them since the beginning), and Hulu will no longer have any dramas because they all came from DF. I’ll do what I’ve always done, fend for myself however I can. One thing for sure, there is a plethora of Chinese on YouTube! But let’s hope Viki picks up some of the future ones like MingLan! Have to see the drama that got my two favorites to marry!!!!
I will be right there with you looking for MingLan! Please let me know if you find it somewhere.
Absolutely!!!
I am so very furious at this. AT&T is ultimately responsible. Do they REALLY think we will just tamely go back to watching cruddy American content again? Are they CRACKED????
I’ve got subscriptions to VIKI & Kocowa, and of course Netflix. I own Healer, thank all the deities – not taking chances there! But now I have to go to the illegal sites to finish 100 Days My Prince & Devilish Joy 🙁 Screw them. Anyone who didn’t understand why monopolies are bad, well THIS is why 🙁
There was a time when I felt all alone in my Kdrama love. That was before the rest of the world discovered what it had been missing. Now, I have a whole community of people who love to chat about what I love, but the trade-off is BIG BUSINESS started to notice. Back off and don’t touch our dramas.
I don’t understand why they went and got licenses for those new shows including 2 Japanese dramas, which really excited me, if they were planning to shut down in the near future. The least they could have done is finished out the shows they were subtitling now, but I guess that would have involved more licensing money. I already had issues with AT&T because of problems I’ve had with them in the past, and this certainly doesn’t go anywhere towards improving my feelings.
To say that I am sad is an understatement. I am crushed. My only source of entertainment is my Fire Stick and I streamed DF, Viki and NF (90% utilized for Kdrama). I got no email, no notices and my screen went dark at about 8 PM last night (right as I was catching up on Devilish Joy) at which point I went crazy trying to reset my router, etc. only to go online to see the message of doom.
What really upsets me is that I cannot get onto my account to see when I paid my annual subscription so that at least I know what they owe me as a refund. Researching now to find out who and where I can write a letter (not that they will read it but I will feel better about voicing my opinion).
The powers that be at Warner Media, Time-Warner and AT & T really have no clue how to deal with our market and they do not understand the K/C/J Drama fan base (and growing bigger all the time). I do not want a broad based streaming service – I want my dramas only – thank you! I shut off all cable except for basic service several years ago as the junk that was offered cannot hold a candle to our K/C/J Drama.
I feel like I woke up to see my husband left me by sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night. Just crushed right now. Sending out some love to all of those folks who were laid off. Thank you for all your hard work over the years.
Our researchers are hard at work trying to get details regarding how people can ask for refunds. And by “researchers” I mean me… I will keep you posted!
Thank you Kdramajen and thanks for having a place for all of us to vent our pain. I for one appreciate it!
You are among friends as we all try to make sense of this shocking change. And we are happy to be that safe place to express your frustrations. Let’s face it: people outside of our Kdrama world have no idea why we are so upset about this!
Got my refund this afternoon! I was shocked….went right back to my CC.
Well, at least they are offering refunds. Now you can take that cash and get a Viki or Kocowa subscription. Thanks for letting us know!
As a multi=year, Premium subscriber, I’m very displeased. I found a copy of the “Terms & Conditions” page, aka that legalese no one reads but lawyers and wannabees like me. It contains some conflicting information that adds to my confusion:
**DramaFever may modify the terms of Premium Membership plans upon thirty (30) days prior written notice. The notice will be provided either by posting the information on the Service or by sending You an email to the email address You provided in connection with Your registration. Any such modifications, to the extent they impact pricing or materially reduce the scope of the Premium Membership offering, will be effective only as of the commencement of the next renewal term of Your subscription.
In addition, DramaFever reserves the right, in its discretion, to terminate Your subscription at any time. If DramaFever does terminate Your account, without reasonable cause, then DramaFever will refund to You, as Your sole and exclusive remedy for any such termination and as DramaFever’s sole and exclusive liability for the same, the pro-rata portion of the subscription fee for the balance of Your then-current subscription term.
Subject to the foregoing, Premium Membership subscription fees are not refundable, in whole or in part, for any reason including for periods of inactivity or service outages, or partially used periods. Notwithstanding the foregoing, DramaFever does reserve the right to terminate your subscription at any time in its discretion.
If You have any questions about billing, please contact us by email at support@dramafever.com**
So, did they violate their own T&C by not giving subscribers a 30 day notice? Do they have to give us refunds, because it’s at their discretion? If the refund is less than a certain amount, will they even bother? I’d say that this is a termination without reasonable cause, so they should refund the pro-rata amount of the subscription, but that line about DF having the right to terminate it at any time makes me wonder.
P.S. For 100 days my Prince viewers, it’s on Amazon Prime video. Took some sleuthing to figure that out. I think a lot of content is over at Amazon Prime, FWIW. In fact, you can still subscribe to DF thru Amazon! I used a Visa gift card with a dollar and some change on it to “start” my DF subscription. Can’t wait to see how this plays out!
In my opinion, to answer your questions:
1) No, because the 30 day notice is if they are modifying the subscription. Instead it goes to the section about termination which they can do at any time.
2) Yes, they have to give us refunds because they did not terminate for reasonable cause.
3) I wouldn’t think amount should matter. It is your money that they owe you. Not giving it to you, no matter how small, may have consequences.
Please understand I am in no way a lawyer or an expert on this topic, just tossing in my two cents. Also, 100 Days Prince is on Amazon Prime through Dramafever which means DF was giving them the episodes. As such, I don’t think there will be any new episodes.
Keep us updated on the amazon situation
Just got a very nice confirmation email of my new Dramafever subscription from Amazon. Links to former DF content on Amazon seem to work. Interesting….
Amazon charged my card $4.99 for a month to month subscription to DramaFever. I can access all the oldies, but no new currently airing episodes after 10-16. So if there was an older series someone was in the middle of watching, and it’s not available anywhere else (or the freebie sites seem too scary) this could be an option.
ICYMI, VRV.co has removed all their DF content.
Annual DF subscriber here. Years ago, I was subscribed to a VoIP service when they suddenly shut down without warning just like DF. All the former subscribers who wanted a refund had to join a class action suit against that particular company. I hope we won’t have to do that to get a refund. 😱 P.S. I need to find a Terius fix soon!
The only legal place that is showing Terius is on Kocowa… unless you have access to Viu (which is mostly just in Asia I believe.)
I’m a premium member with an annual membership. I’d guess that the purpose for sending premium members that email stating that it was canceled at their own request is because no refunds are due if you choose to cancel. I wouldn’t expect anyone to get refunds.
Amen! To everything you all said. You’ve captured my feelings exactly.
Maybe OnDemandKorea will hire the now unemployed Dramafever subbers and start subbing more of their dramas?
Meanwhile, I have posted screeds on the non-drama forums I belong to. I have left complaints on AT&T’s and Warner Bros’ Facebook pages. Tomorrow I am going to see about switching our business cell plan from AT&T to T-Mobile. Is there anything else I can do? Short of flying to Texas and egging the main offices? (Although that is a delightful fantasy . . .) (Yes, I googled where AT&T’s main offices were so as to see if picketing and/or egging would be possible.)
Hmm could we kidnap the morons who made this horrible decision and hold them hostage until they change their minds:-) I am so upset that I just signed up with Cricket only to find out they are owned by AT&T but will definitely be switching my service as soon as possible to a non AT&T company and will start boycotting their films which will be so easy since most of them are garbage!
ODK subs very few newer Kdramas or shows. They are also starting to have more Chinese dramas and movies. I’d love to support them if they would sub more content.
Looks like ODK is planning to offer subbed dramas, however – seeing as there’s now this big hole to fill LOL They’ve got all the dramas I was watching on DF too!
If ODK was smart:
1) they would offer more currently airing subbed dramas, plus get the Eng subbed oldies from DF. Right now ODK has only one currently airing Eng subbed drama.
2) ODK *could* offer new subscribers a ‘deal’ on their first-year subscription to ODK.
3) Make the site a bit easier to navigate for the newbies, and allow comments/reviews like DF.
I will be watching for ODK to get more subbed current content. I would love to support them. When they were subbing more current dramas, I was a subscriber, but when they quit subbing current content, I left. I wrote the Suits at ODK and begged them (nicely) to provide more Eng subbed drama content so I could keep subscribing but they seemed disinterested. Perhaps that has changed.
Looks like they have changed after assessing the current situation 😀 They are on ROKU so I’m thrilled 😀
Well went to bed praying it was all a bad dream but alas I wake up to find out it was not and I am so angry right now. I have already sent my email to the morons at Warner Media voicing my outrage and I usually do not like lawyers but right now I really wish there was one who could start a class action lawsuit against them. They have stolen millions of dollars from their customers who had a paid contract with them and are no longer providing service so how is that even legal???? I am so sick of American entertainment screwing everything up. I boycotted American trash TV years ago and was thrilled to find DF and Viki but now these morons have the audacity to steal DF from us! This does not even make any sense since they paid to acquire DF’s huge library of dramas and am afraid it will end with these asshats offering our dramas back to us with their bundled service which will include all of their horrible and offensive programming and for which we will be forced to pay a highly inflated amount for. I was grandfathered in with DF for only 11.88 a year so would be extremely upset if this happens.
Wow, just, wow. It is like I was reading a book and someone came up and ripped the part I hadn’t read out of my book. Then a few hours later, they came and took the rest of the book and other books I had on my bookshelf.
The completely unprofessional manner in which this was done is shocking. I feel pity for the employees who were fired out of nowhere. I feel anger for the vague and nonsensical explanation that AT&T/Warner offered everyone for why they were shutting DF down. To clarify, their reason was essentially “business reasons” which might make sense but there were a lot of easy options to try making DF more profitable before going the route of shutting down.
What about the shows we were watching or that were unique to DF? They hold the exclusive licenses. If they plan to have those shows a part of their streaming catalog A YEAR+ FROM NOW then we won’t see them until then. I’m not sure they have the ability to recoup money from them by reselling them. Which means those of us who legally watch Korean content, in order to demonstrate our support of said content, are left only with illegal means to finish the interrupted shows.
I am left shocked, saddened, and concerned by the turn of events. Doubly so when I realize hopping on DF to watch a kdrama to get through my sadness is no longer an option. I am left only with the hope that Netflix hires Dramafever’s subtitlers, because Netflix’s are terrible. Thanks for the opportunity to rant.
I was mad and sad to begin with, and now I’m just mad. The way they handled things was not okay. I do have to say though I actually have a little hope that I’ll get my refund now. I tweeted AT&T and Warner Media Group last night in irritation and this morning AT&T’s customer care account replied to my tweet and we are currently discussing how they can help me out. If nothing comes of it, I’ll go to my bank and see if they can hlep me.
Have you guys heard of Plex? It has content, but more importantly, it will catalog and show YOUR media (that you own), and allows you to share said media with friends. https://www.plex.tv/your-media/#modal-features
It’s not a replacement for streaming services, of course, but if we end up back in the sharing our DVDs days, well, it’s a sharing service.
I use it extensively. Especially for Chinese/Thai and Japanese. I’ve been a subscribed users for 5 years now.
#bringbackdramafever https://www.change.org/p/petition-for-dramafever-to-come-back
I was extremely sad when I found out last night. Then I was mad. Now I am at a loss to where I will be watching my dramas. For those of us outside of US, DF had a lot of dramas that were available to us. It’s hard to stay positive.
Arg! The more this news absorbs, the angrier I am. I had a year’s subscription. Still no word from them.
I used to subscribe to a Canadian (North American cable shows) streaming site that went under. They gave us a month’s notice. And they only billed month to month. That’s how you do it!!!!
Mostly I’m just pissed off. I’d ditched DF after they refused to continue my yearly subscription when I missed an email from them while my cat was severely ill (ended up crossing the rainbow bridge). I was watching some of the content via VRV instead, including three currently airing dramas… and I can tell you that I will not EVER subscribe to the service they are supposedly going to release next year. Don’t get between a girl and her dramas and expect her to be willing to pick things back up the following year while you screw her over for more money. I was watching Beauty Inside and I will NEVER EVER forgive them for getting in the way of that.
Our household already has the experience of having to shell out for CBS for Star Trek Discovery… we didn’t watch a single other show the whole time we were paying, discontinued the service as soon as the season was done. When are these companies going to figure out that people ditch cable because they are sick of paying over the odds for a bunch of stuff they don’t want to watch… it is cheaper for us to pay for amazon prime, hulu, netflix, kocowa, viki, and vrv than it would be to pay for cable which, frankly, is ridiculous.
Personally, I wish that all of the Korean networks would band together and offer everything through Kocowa (with expansion of their viewing options). I would happily pay more for the service since upping it to $99 or even $129 a year would be very reasonable still – and if they continued their relationship with Viki it would still allow people to subscribe to a single service for dramas from multiple countries.
I did the exact same thing with CBS – cause long time Trekkie. I also will NEVER buy this all-encompassing expensive thing that AT&T seems to be planning – OMG what greedy, short-sighted fools those suits really are!!! It would be lovely if On Demand Korea really is going to take up the slack & sub dramas now – they’ve got a ton!