Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Crunchyroll and Game Show Network (GSN) have teamed to launch the Crunchyroll 24-hour anime streaming service. The new FAST channel will be available in the U.S. on Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, the Roku Channel and Vizio’s WatchFree+. Crunchyroll has been delivering East Asian content to U.S. audiences since 2006. In 2016 it partnered with Funimation, which also specialized in Japanese content. Sony acquired Funimation in 2017 and Crunchyroll in 2021, merging the two last year. Continue reading Crunchyroll and GSN Launch a FAST Channel for Anime Fans

Further to its goal of becoming a sort of Google-with-benefits for viewers who stream TV shows and movies across multiple platforms, Plex is reformatting its welcome screen to include a discover feature, universal search and universal watchlists. Rolling out in beta, the new Plex interface offers what amounts to personalized search-and-save “across virtually any streaming service,” from Plex’s own free movies and television series to subscription services like Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max. “As of today, Plex searches, personalizes, and organizes all of your content, no matter where that content lives,” the company announced. Continue reading New Plex Features Help Viewers Navigate Streaming Services

AT&T closed the sale of its anime streamer Crunchyroll to Sony’s Funimation Global Group for $1.175 billion in cash. Funimation is a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment subsidiary Aniplex. According to Sony Pictures chair and chief executive Tony Vinciquerra, the goal is to “create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible.” The two services will remain separate initially. Crunchyroll currently has 5+ million paying subscribers globally and 120 million registered users in 200+ countries. Continue reading Sony’s Funimation Pursues Anime with Crunchyroll Purchase