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About
Funimation is the market leader in anime, delivering fan experiences across television, feature films, events, collectibles and the Funimation app. It is also a major anime distribution and localization company. It is headquartered in the US and dishes out anime experiences to 52 countries in 10 languages. Founded in 1994, it licensed popular Japanese anime series such as Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho, Attack on Titan, Cowboy Bebop among others in its early years and has only grown ever since. As of 2017, Sony Pictures Television has a major ownership stake in Funimation. The story of Funimation is directly tied into the history of anime broadcasting. Companies like Funimation, Sony, Netflix, Amazon and the like have helped produce more anime and made it all the more widely available outside of Japan.
Where Are They Winning
One of Funimation’s biggest advantages is that it offers free streaming of some of its content to viewers bundled with video advertisements. Otherwise, it has membership plans that cost $59.99 to $99 per year. Funimation can be streamed on a wide range of devices. It is available on the Android and iOS apps and is compatible with streaming devices like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV. It is supported on smart TVs by Samsung and LG as well. It also streams on game consoles like Nintendo, Switch, Playstation 4 and Playstation 5. Vizio’s SmartCast operating system has collaborated with Funimation to enable viewers to tune into live and on-demand anime programming in a truly cinematic experience. Vizio’s 4K HDR picture quality with Quantum colour technology and Dolby Atmos audio is certain to blow the roof off of Funimation’s viewers.
Next Growth Areas
In 2020, Sony acquired Crunchyroll, another major anime streaming platform. This means that the best of anime for the western market has been consolidated into one place. With anime gaining an international appetite, the genre has ballooned into the third-most-in-demand TV subgenre globally. Banking on this popularity, Funimation’s future plan is to deliver an anime experience across any platform which includes theatrical, events, home entertainment and linear TV. When it comes to expansion location-wise, Funimation expanded its reach to Latin American countries including Colombia, Chile and Peru where it launched in June 2021.
In Summary
Anime viewership is on a steady incline. According to Ampere Consumer data, the proportion of viewers who enjoy watching Anime increased from 24% in the first quarter of 2018 to 36% in the same period of 2021. This effectively suggests that the anime market in the OTT landscape is a booming one. Though Funimation’s 26 year history has made it a sought-after anime streaming provider, the gaining popularity of anime is making many other streaming platforms sit up and take notice of this genre.
So if you are an OTT player looking to launch your anime segment and build new audiences, take the help of a tech expert like Enveu. Our creative and technical experience can bolster your video streaming vision. Get in touch with us today!
