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NEWS: Sony's Funimation Global Group Completes Acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T


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Cardcaptor Takato



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
Posts: 4881
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:51 pm Reply with quote
What's going to happen to Crunchyroll's OP-ED writers? I always liked reading Daniel Dockery's articles on Digimon and Yugioh.
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Punch Drunk Marc



Joined: 04 Oct 2013
Posts: 1744
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:56 pm Reply with quote
I am 100% fine with this. Come on, FuniRoll.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
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Joined: 14 Aug 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:41 pm Reply with quote
matt78 wrote:


I don’t think this changes anything for Sentai. They haven’t competed for the bigger titles in years and this doesn’t change that. If anything I think this might free up some of the sub only licenses that Crunchyroll got since Funimation likes to dub 90% of their licenses.


One thing that does change is the act CR and Sentai currently have a partnership of their own. When Funi and CR "broke up" Sentai stepped into that spot. Funi had been on VRV for example with CR, then when they separated they obviously were no longer on VRV. Once CR and Sentai partnered up they took Funi's place on VRV as well. I cannot see the current partnership between CR and Sentai continuing. Sony isn't going to let one of their products partner with the competition. So Sentai is going to be on their own again. I would be very interested to see what their own streaming service (Hi-Dive) numbers will look like now. I imagine many canceled those and simply got a VRV account when the partnership with CR happened. Much as how I figure many dropped Funi's subscription and got a VRV in the past when Funi had previously partnered with CR. I like the layout of Funi's site better than VRV, but VRV has always played better for me. I felt the same when comparing it and Hi-Dive initially as well.

This whole situation feels like a couple that got divorced, one found a new partner, but then their marriage councilor (Sony) got the original couple to make up and get married again for a second time.
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nDroae



Joined: 26 May 2017
Posts: 382
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 10:06 pm Reply with quote
There's an extra step there, in that Sentai and CR had been working together before the first CR-Funi partnership, and Sentai broke it off when that started. Sentai now looks like the childhood friend that ultimately lost to their irresistible rival.

Having Funimation on VRV was great. The memory of that gives me hope that the new unified service, whatever that is, may not take as long to set up as some fear. In the meantime, I'm still subscribed to both CR and Funimation.
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Lynx Raven Raide



Joined: 01 Nov 2017
Posts: 412
Location: Central Coast, AU
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 11:08 pm Reply with quote
Seriously, this does not bode well. All indications from Funi social media is that CR is going to be folded into Funi. After the recent fiasco with AnimeLab becoming FuniANZ and adopting the Funi presentation rather than the AL one, I can see them just rolling the CR catalogue into Funi as is. And dont be surprised if not all shows come over either.

Someone asked what this would mean for Wakanim, and personally I think they were waiting for the outcome of this before rebranding as probably FuniEU like they did with AnimeLab becoming FuniANZ.
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Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3680
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 11:11 pm Reply with quote
Hopefully this means more BD releases for those titles that have lingered in digital only availability.

Should be interesting at least to see how this looks in a year or two.

Engineering Nerd wrote:
Crunchyroll has several blu ray releases collaborations with several NA licensors, I wonder are those contracts still a thing？


It probably depends on the terms of the contracts, but typically those stay in effect. In order to get out of them money would probably have to change hands and it probably wouldn't be worth it. I'm pretty sure you legally have to honor pre-existing contracts when you buy another company.

For example, Microsoft has two games coming exclusively (timed exclusivity to be precise) to Playstation from two of their studios because when they bought Zenimax those exclusivity deals were already in place.

jdnation wrote:
Do we even know if Sony will actually merge Funimation and CrunchyRoll?

They could just let them operate as independent subsidiarities...

But if not, then I welcome our new 'PlayStation Streaming Network' overlords, where you watch Precure, Dragonball & Spider-Man together at last!


They always could keep them separate, but since it was specifically the Funi part of Sony that acquired them (as opposed to the Playstation part) it seems unlikely.
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FlyingOrange



Joined: 29 Apr 2021
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 11:28 pm Reply with quote
Hopefully the new 'streamlined' service will still be under VRV so that Hidive, Crunchyroll and Funimation can be available through a VRV subscription. Also Funimation should take notes from Animelab and Crunchyroll on how to make a competent website/player.
DerekL1963 wrote:
Ryuji-Dono wrote:
DerekL1963 wrote:
The two companies between them control(led) probably 95% of the market... What's left are dabblers and other little fish.

That's not a recipe for increased competition.


Netflix doesn’t count for you?


Netflix has a modest back catalog, which it adds to slowly. It occasionally streams a current season show, and every once in a while it's not one of their "originals"/co-productions. As things stand, Netflix is very much a "dabbler and little fish" compared to Funiroll. That is, it's the level of activity and perceived interest which matters - not the size of the bankroll.

It's not impossible that will change, but Netflix's competition is Disney, HBO, and Amazon... And none of them have displayed any serious interest in getting into the anime game. (Amazon did, but then flubbed it and let their service quietly die.) I imagine Netflix could be a bigger player any day they decide to... But I doubt they're going to put serious cash into fighting a battle that they're the only one (currently) fighting.

HBO Max has some through Crunchyroll and got the Ghibli collection so it'll be interesting to see if they get into it more. It looks like Tubi might be more too since they're starting original programming including animation and they already have a decent amount of anime licensed.
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kotomikun



Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 1205
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 11:31 pm Reply with quote
This is not the first time FuniRoll has been a thing, but I guess they must think it'll be more permanent this time around. Must be a reaction to Netflix and Amazon and others competing for licenses. Hard to say what this will mean for users, no one really seems to know yet... though "unified anime subscription experience" sounds pretty clear.
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Megumi Chisato



Joined: 04 Aug 2021
Posts: 38
PostPosted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 11:45 pm Reply with quote
Honestly speaking, when it comes to streaming services, "monopolies" in the traditional sense are indeed good for the consumer where one company holds the rights to a ton of shows.

Technically, because of exclusive streaming rights, there's no way one streaming service can compete with another because each service already has a monopoly over the shows it has. Viewers are not choosing streaming services for their features or functions, they're choosing them for their exclusive content. That's why streaming services don't care to improve their functionality. That's not what they're competing on.

The only way to have a fair market is to really remove any sort of exclusive streaming rights. Let every streaming service stream the same shows. That way, consumers not only have far easier access to content and not have to pay hundreds of dollars for multiple services. They can choose the service they like the best (based on the features and functions) and still have access to all their favorite content. This way, streaming services will have to compete based on who has the best streaming experience instead of the best content.

This guy covers the issue in more detail here.
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NJ_



Joined: 31 Oct 2009
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 12:08 am Reply with quote
nDroae wrote:
There's an extra step there, in that Sentai and CR had been working together before the first CR-Funi partnership, and Sentai broke it off when that started. Sentai now looks like the childhood friend that ultimately lost to their irresistible rival.


This also happened with Discotek as well and that resumed post-FUNi split with pickups like Konosuba and a newly-dubbed Kemono Friends.

It'll also be interesting to see what happens with the Viz deal, especially with Jujutsu Kaisen still being a thing.
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BigOnAnime
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 01 Jul 2010
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Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 12:11 am Reply with quote
Redbeard 101 wrote:
I would be very interested to see what their own streaming service (Hi-Dive) numbers will look like now.
If you want a "before" look, as of January 2020 they have 300,000 users.
John Ledford wrote:
Quote:
When did HiDive launch and how has it been doing?
HiDive launched two and a half years ago. The growth has been fantastic. We went from just a handful of users to floating around 300,000 users right now. It’s [subscription video on demand] SVOD, so it doesn’t have advertising
https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/01/16/houston-based-japanese-animation-co-receives.html
(Full article quoted here if you get a paywall notice.)

There's also this.
Quote:
Sentai recorded better financial results in 2019 than in the previous year and considers and implements measures with the goal of medium- and long-term growth. These includes strategic and operational changes established to adapt to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainties of the global marketplace for entertainment content. While some business verticals that compose Sentai’s diversified entertainment distribution business such as HIDIVE have experienced significant growth, other areas such as production services and packaged media have experienced temporary supply chain lags largely due to the impact of COVID-19 across the industry.
https://www.cj-fund.co.jp/en/files/press_200930-en.pdf (Linked in below article)
animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-10-03/cool-japan-fund-makes-additional-3.6-million-available-to-sentai-holdings/.164845

Though yeah, things aren't going to look too good, especially with Sentai struggling to get new titles. Their last "big" season was Fall 2019 with Ahiru no Sora, Assassins Pride, Chidori RSC, Chihayafuru 3, Kandagawa Jet Girls, Outburst Dreamer Boys, Val x Love, and Z/X: Code Reunion, or 8 titles and that was after the first Cool Japan boost. 8 years ago Sentai used to get more titles than FUNimation, oh how that quickly changed. Like in Summer 2013 Sentai picked up 13 titles, FUNimation got 5, and NISA had 2 (remember when NISA licensed anime?). FUNimation also snatched up Log Horizon 3 which Sentai had the prior seasons of, will FUNimation also outbid them for Danmachi IV? They also picked up the new Knights of Sidonia movie and Sentai had released the prior entries.
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NJ_



Joined: 31 Oct 2009
Posts: 3025
Location: Wallington, NJ
PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 12:13 am Reply with quote
BigOnAnime wrote:
(remember when NISA licensed anime?)


I don't wanna remember unless someone rescues Cardcaptor Sakura again and fix the subs.
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Gemnist



Joined: 10 Feb 2016
Posts: 1758
PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 12:17 am Reply with quote
Ryuji-Dono wrote:
The stage is complete. I can see the streaming competition intensifying after this.

But here’s hoping it means FUNimation diversifies their studios in dubs a whole lot more.


They’ve been doing that a lot the past few seasons. It’s pretty common now to see LA and Houston talent in Funimation dubs, which I assume is both due to Funimation and Aniplex also both being under the Sony umbrella, and also due to COVID making location a weird non-factor.
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Redbeard 101
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 1:57 am Reply with quote
Gemnist wrote:
....and also due to COVID making location a weird non-factor.


That would be because now more and more VA's are setting up their own home studios and recording booths. That was not a common thing before. One of the most frequent questions VA's would get is how do you become a VA. One of the main repeated answers was live where the work is. Or be willing to travel a lot. While it does still help to live closer to the work, thanks to zoom, skype, etc., and VA's setting up their own home studios it has become much more accessible for them to work from home now and record sessions.
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ryonomiko
Subscriber



Joined: 22 Apr 2004
Posts: 94
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 3:33 am Reply with quote
I've never had a Funimation subscription for many reasons. So no, not excited by this deal having happened.

Already have had to buy too many series subbed on disc released by Funi over many years. Funi leans far too much to translating however they think fit (liberal translation) versus a more literal translation (although CR been going bit downhill) (Natsume movie by Funi vs Natsume Yuujinchou series on CR or Free! eg); disc menus suck (multiple reasons), cannot skip over the F*ing previews/ads (which are always dub), etc. So now then all the CR titles will wind up getting put out by Funi? NO THANKS!

Also n way I want to pay even more for a subscription for a merged (not Funi's site/player please (I'm in Canada so not been tortured with new and "improved" CR site yet)) CR/Funi combined service (wheenver that happens).

Hope Discotek titles on CR don't just vanish Crying or Very sad
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