×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
NEWS: Nikkei: Sony 'Nears Acquisition' of Crunchyroll


Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
FlowerAiko



Joined: 05 Apr 2017
Posts: 218
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 9:46 am Reply with quote
Ryuji-Dono wrote:
Jonny Mendes wrote:
I can see Sony using Funimation for North American market and Crunchyroll for the rest of the world.

That's one way to avoid competition between the two services.


Does that mean different dubs in other English speaking countries?


Assuming this happens, probably not. They would just reuse the Eng dub they made for Funi elsewhere in the world. Why pay for a dub twice?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4410
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 9:48 am Reply with quote
FlowerAiko wrote:
So this leaves:

- Netflix, who just announced a huuuge partnership with a bunch of studios (I wonder if these two events are related?)

- Viz, who picks up very few, mainstream shows and focuses on manga

- Eleven Arts for films and GKIDS for films and NGE, apparently

- Whatever energy Sentai's dying body has left

And this is only in NA. I know Sony has a huge presence in other markets worldwide but am unfamiliar with intl markets on the whole.

This is really, really bad. People defended the Funi buyout back in the day because "these companies can pay top dollar during bidding wars, that's good for studios!" and now we have a near monopoly. I doubt Sony will be keen on "paying top dollar" if they're pretty much the only route available for NA anime distribution.

Funi's streaming service is already abysmal with the slow loading times, terrible console apps, and a website video player that STILL does not disappear when you enter full screen. I'm not a huge fan of Crunchyroll either but their website is at least functional. I wonder if Sony plans to merge the two or will keep them separate to wring out more subscriber money ala Disney +/Hulu/ESPN+.


I would guess so. Crunchy and Funi partnered up before largely in response to Netflix and (at the time) Amazon getting more aggressive about anime licenses. I can easily see where Netflix decided sooner or later Sony would do this, especially with ATT looking to reduce its massive debts ASAP, so now was the time to make good on those plans we've been hearing about. The wind has been blowing towards these companies getting seats on the production committees rather than spending way too much trying to outbid each other for licenses, and I think we're seeing the pieces come together for that to become pretty standard.

I think you're right that it won't result in them paying top dollar for anime. One benefit of getting involved in the production side is having at least some say on the budget going into it. Just because these companies have deep pockets doesn't mean they will be happy to spend it.


The only real benefit I see from my perspective as a customer is that it could consolidate things down to one streaming service for both CR and Funi. Even then, I wouldn't be surprised to see that one app cost more than either the CR or Funi app individually with the justification being that it has "so much content" while on the back end the reason is Sony plunked down a lot of money and wants to get it back quickly.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Jonny Mendes



Joined: 17 Oct 2014
Posts: 997
Location: Europe
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 9:48 am Reply with quote
Ryuji-Dono wrote:
Jonny Mendes wrote:
I can see Sony using Funimation for North American market and Crunchyroll for the rest of the world.

That's one way to avoid competition between the two services.


Does that mean different dubs in other English speaking countries?

Because they are under the same company, they probably can use the same Funi Dub.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ryuji-Dono



Joined: 26 Apr 2018
Posts: 1207
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 9:49 am Reply with quote
FlowerAiko wrote:
Ryuji-Dono wrote:
Jonny Mendes wrote:
I can see Sony using Funimation for North American market and Crunchyroll for the rest of the world.

That's one way to avoid competition between the two services.


Does that mean different dubs in other English speaking countries?


Assuming this happens, probably not. They would just reuse the Eng dub they made for Funi elsewhere in the world. Why pay for a dub twice?


In case of licensing issues. Maybe use a LA based studio (Studiopolis and BangZoom) at times?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Jonny Mendes



Joined: 17 Oct 2014
Posts: 997
Location: Europe
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 9:56 am Reply with quote
Ryuji-Dono wrote:

In case of licensing issues. Maybe use a LA based studio (Studiopolis and BangZoom) at times?


Sony will probably be the one taking care of the licenses likely paying for all territories they are interested and after they can put the anime in Funimation for North American market and Crunchyroll for the rest of the world. So the same dub can be used in both services.

But I'm a sub only fan so I don't know how dub licenses work, so I can be wrong.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:02 am Reply with quote
I am not surprised by the sale, but I am shocked to learn that Crunchyroll is valued at 1 billion while Funimation was bought for almost a tenth at 143 millions. Things are going to get crazy, and I don't think think fans are going to emerge happy.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
DjangoDCCX



Joined: 20 Jan 2017
Posts: 16
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:10 am Reply with quote
Crunchymation was great while it lasted. The biggest library shared between two streamers; Crunchyroll with the subs, and Funimation with the dubs. Furthermore, Sony is a conglomerate that has plenty of experience not just in anime but in entertainment and consumer technology as a whole.

Contrast the mismanagement and anti-competitive nonsense of AT&T since the Warner acquisition. The fact that AT&T was asking for $1 billion shows their complete lack of knowledge in the niche anime industry and reeks of desperation to pay off all their debts. If they were smart, they would offered Otter Media as a whole the first time around.

The worst thing is that WarnerMedia already has a good thing going between Crunchyroll and its collaborations with Rooster Teeth and Adult Swim. If AT&T really needed the extra cash, they should have already gotten rid of DirecTV. I know it sounds ignorant, but is giving Dish Network a monopoly in Satellite television really the end of the world? From what I hear, neither they nor DirecTV have been anything but a boone to their consumer base; you might as well stick to traditional cable or virtual TV.

Speaking of monopolies, until Viz Media or Netflix exits the business, this is anything but one. Besides, it's ignorant and bias to discount Sentai and other small companies just because they focus on smaller titles instead of mainstream blockbusters.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MFrontier



Joined: 13 Apr 2014
Posts: 10946
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:13 am Reply with quote
I guess there's going to be a little less LA anime dubs in the future...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ryuji-Dono



Joined: 26 Apr 2018
Posts: 1207
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:15 am Reply with quote
MFrontier wrote:
I guess there's going to be a little less LA anime dubs in the future...


Netflix may be enough to counter that
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BlueRex666



Joined: 13 Mar 2016
Posts: 233
Location: El Paso, TX
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:20 am Reply with quote
While I can't say I'm happy Sony seems to be trying to get a monopoly on anime, the fact they allowed what was essentially a sex scene in The Last of Us 2 to slip through at least has me think they won't be as censor happy as everyone thinks they'll be.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
hooliganj



Joined: 03 Jul 2004
Posts: 113
Location: Longhorn Central
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:21 am Reply with quote
DjangoDCCX wrote:
Speaking of monopolies, until Viz Media or Netflix exits the business, this is anything but one. Besides, it's ignorant and bias to discount Sentai and other small companies just because they focus on smaller titles instead of mainstream blockbusters.

The field has shifted quite a bit since the original VRV couple broke up. Viz has been winding down their streaming options for years, while Netflix is shifting into production of original titles, which greatly reduces their budget to support shows outside of what they make for themselves.

And a business doesn't need to own 100% of a market to be considered a monopoly, or to do the damage of one. Google is being prosecuted by the government despite the existence of Bing and a handful of other search engines. And AT&T wasn't the only phone company around when they were broken up in the 80s. The existence of smaller competitors doesn't automatically make a healthy marketplace - there has to be space to compete and capacity to grow. The concern is that Sony owning both Funimation and Crunchyroll will severely restrict those options for everyone else.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
PonSquared



Joined: 27 Dec 2006
Posts: 246
Location: Lost in the Catskills
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:28 am Reply with quote
So one company owns everything?

r/whatcouldgowrong ?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
overlordrae



Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 89
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:30 am Reply with quote
In trying to find a silver lining in this, maybe the fact that Sony Pictures is buying could mean better production values for Webtoons animations....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
ErikaD.D



Joined: 09 Jun 2019
Posts: 658
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:39 am Reply with quote
Is this really bad? If it's really bad, should we worried about it? Anyway, monopoly is bad.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
strawberry-kun



Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 299
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:44 am Reply with quote
I’m don’t like this at all. I don’t like one company having so much control in the US market, and I don’t trust Sony after their censorship nonsense they pulled with Playstation. I’m very worried about Sentai and the other smaller anime companies with this acquisition too.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8  Next
Page 2 of 8

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group