Funimation To Shut Down Completely On April 2; Deleting Purchased Digital Copies Upsets Fans
Issues such as these, along with increasing prices, further demotivate fans from seeking official sources to watch anime.
Funimation merging with Crunchyroll isn’t some BREAKING NEWS that we’re hearing for the first time. But do you know what is? Customers who have purchased digital copies of the series on the app will not have access to them anymore!
That’s right! On Feb 8, 2024, it was officially announced by Crunchyroll that Funimation is shutting down its app and services on April 2, 2024. However, existing Funimation subscribers will be migrated to the Crunchyroll app. That means, these customers will merely have to login to the Crunchyroll app using the Funimation login details. But the catch is, they’ll have to bear the increase in prices!
Instead of paying $5.99 per month for Funimation Premium Plus, migrated subscribers will now have to pay $9.99 per month, and the new billing cycle will start from April 15, 2024.
Furthermore, Crunchyroll will not support digital copies redeemed through Funimation, which makes the situation even worse. Users who redeemed digital copies of a Blu-ray or DVD purchased from Funimation were granted access to the streaming service, where they could store and stream the purchased program or film.
4 years ago, Funimation permitted users to retain copies “indefinitely.” However, that no longer appears to be the case.
(Source: Funimation)
Crunchyroll’s support page states that Crunchyroll does not currently support Funimation digital copies, which means that access to these copies will not be feasible anymore or be added to your Crunchyroll library. They dodge further questions by saying that they’re working on enhancing existing content and bringing a better experience for existing Crunchyroll subscribers.
This has, of course, upset Funimation users, who regret not purchasing physical copies of their favourite anime shows. This makes the corporation’s stance against piracy weak, as some fans claim these companies aren’t doing a good job of providing a seamless watching experience. And since Crunchyroll is America’s biggest streaming platform for anime, issues such as these, along with increasing prices, further demotivate them to seek official sources to watch anime.
Crunchyroll is an over-the-top (OTT) video subscription service that is under the ownership of Sony Group Corporation. The organization is predominantly engaged in the distribution of films and television series generated by East Asian media, encompassing Japanese anime. Its main office is situated in San Francisco, California, while a branch for Japan is situated in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Established in 2006 by a cohort of graduates from the University of California, Berkeley, the service provides written material to a global user base exceeding one hundred million. It had been a subsidiary of AT&T/WarnerMedia’s Otter Media prior to its 2018 partnership with Funimation, which Sony acquired in 2017 and would subsequently incorporate into its brand in 2022, subsequent to Sony’s 2021 acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T.
Although the number of available shows fluctuates by country due to licensing restrictions, Crunchyroll currently provides more than 1,000 anime series, over 200 East Asian dramas in over 18 languages, and formerly offered around 80 manga titles under the name Crunchyroll Manga.
Source: the verge
