Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll
Type Private
Founded June 2006
Headquarters San Francisco, California, USA
Industry Anime industry, anime, Asian drama and video on demand
Owner The Chernin Group
TV Tokyo
Slogan(s) The Official Source for Anime & Drama
Website http://www.crunchyroll.com
Alexa rank negative increase 1,532[1]
Type of site Video streaming service
Registration Optional

Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on video streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content. Founded in 2006 by a group of UC Berkeley graduates,[2] Crunchyroll's distribution channel and partnership program delivers content to over five million online community members worldwide. Crunchyroll is funded by The Chernin Group and TV Tokyo.[3]

History

Crunchyroll started in 2006 as a for-profit video upload and streaming site that specialized in hosting East Asian video content. Some of the content hosted on Crunchyroll, such as fan-subbed versions of East Asian shows or bootlegs of official US releases of anime titles, was illegally hosted without permission from any rightsholders or the fansub team responsible. However, Crunchyroll eventually removed copyrighted content when requested by the rightsholder.

In 2008, Crunchyroll secured a capital investment of $4.05 million from the venture capital firm Venrock.[4] The investment drew criticism from anime distributors and licensors Bandai Entertainment and Funimation as the site continued to allow users to upload illegal copies of licensed titles.[5]

However, Crunchyroll eventually began securing legal distribution agreements with companies, including Gonzo, for an increasing number of titles. On January 8, 2009, after announcing a deal with TV Tokyo to host episodes of Naruto Shippuden, Crunchyroll stated that it was committed to removing all copyright-infringing material from its site and to hosting only content to which it had legitimate distribution rights.[6]

In 2010, Crunchyroll announced its acquisition of the North American DVD rights to 5 Centimeters Per Second. This was the first DVD release licensed by Crunchyroll.[7]

Crunchyroll offers over 200 anime shows and more than 200 Asian dramas to users, although not all programming is available worldwide due to licensing restrictions.[8]

On December 2, 2013, The Chernin Group announced that they have acquired a controlling interest in Crunchyroll. A person with knowledge of the transaction said the price for the acquisition was close to $100 million. The Chernin Group said that Crunchyroll management and existing investor TV Tokyo will maintain a "significant" stake in the company.[9][10]

Availability

Free access to Crunchyroll is available on desktop browsers, and devices with Windows Phone, iOS and Android that are connected to a Wi-Fi source. However, not all content is offered for free. Some content requires a paid subscription service of $6.95/month, while other content becomes free after a delay, usually a week after availability for the paid members, and only paid members have access to the content in HDTV. Some titles are subscription only, based on licensing agreements. Some titles are only available in certain regions of the world; some titles available in the United States may not be available in other countries.

With paid memberships, streaming to select Windows Phone devices (with OS 7.5 or higher), Roku devices, Boxee, Wii U,[11] PlayStation 3,[12] PlayStation 4,[13] PlayStation Vita,[14] Xbox 360[15] and Xbox One[16] consoles, and Vizio, Google and Samsung Internet enabled televisions is available. In June 2013 the service became available through Apple TV.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Crunchyroll.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. ↑ "Crunchyroll CEO: Making Online Anime Pay". ICv2. 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  3. ↑ "Crunchyroll - About". Crunchyroll.com. 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Video Site with Unauthorized Anime Gets US$4M Capital". Anime News Network. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  5. ↑ "Funimation, Bandai Entertainment Respond on Crunchyroll". Anime News Network. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  6. ↑ "TV Tokyo to Stream Naruto via Crunchyroll Worldwide". Anime News Network. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  7. ↑ "Crunchyroll Adds Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second DVD". Anime News Network. 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  8. ↑ "Crunchyroll – Frequently Asked Questions". 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  9. ↑ Lieberman, David (2013-12-02). "Peter Chernin Takes Control Of Anime Provider Crunchyroll". Deadline.com.
  10. ↑ Glover, Ronald (2013-12-02). "Chernin buys anime site Crunchyroll to expand online video assets". Reuters.
  11. ↑ "Crunchyroll Wii U". Crunchyroll. 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2014-12-25.
  12. ↑ "Forum - Crunchyroll is on PS3™ Now!". Crunchyroll. 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  13. ↑ "Crunchyroll App Available on PlayStation 4 at Launch". Crunchyroll. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
  14. ↑ "Crunchyroll App Available for PlayStation Vita Starting Today!". Crunchyroll. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  15. ↑ "Forum - Crunchyroll is on Xbox LIVE now!". Crunchyroll. 2013-03-19. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  16. ↑ "Forum - Crunchyroll Now on Xbox One!". Crunchyroll. 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
  17. ↑ "HBO GO & WatchESPN Come to Apple TV". Apple Inc. 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2013-06-19.

External links