AMC Networks has completed the acquisition of Houston-based Sentai, a global supplier of anime content and merchandise, with brands including the anime-focused HIDIVE direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service. The acquisition includes all of the member interests from Cool Japan Fund, a public-private Japanese investment fund. With access to key content creators in Japan, Sentai distributes and […]

According to research by Interpret, across markets including the UK, US, Germany and Japan, anime viewers are twice as likely to watch eSports as non-viewers. In addition to eSports, anime viewers spend more on online gaming than non-viewers. According to Interpret’s Global Animeasure 2021 report, anime viewers are more likely to play video games (they […]

Contents Lab. Blue has raised KRW 10 billion (€7.4m) in Series A funding from Korea Investment Partners, Kona Venture Partners, We Ventures, Crit Ventures and Dae Gyeong Investment, following KRW 3 billion in pre-A investment from Kona Venture Partners last January. With this funding round, the Company has secured total investment of KRW 13 billion. […]

Rakuten TV, the European VoD platform, has announced the launch of 21 new channels across Spain, Italy, and France as part of ongoing expansion plans across key territories. The new additions will offer a variety of entertainment across lifestyle, nature, film, animation, music, and culture.  All the channels are either available immediately or set to […]

Crunchyroll, the global anime brand with more than 120 million registered users and more than five million subscribers, is expanding the rollout of Crunchyroll, a new opt-in beta experience for Crunchyroll web users globally. The new web experience was introduced to users in the US earlier this year, and now users everywhere can access the […]

During last week’s Netflix Festival Japan 2021, the streaming service unveiled a list of 50 upcoming titles, including both anime and live-action. In a blog post, Kaata Sakamoto, VP, Content for Japan at Netflix, said: “While anime continues to be fundamental to our growth strategy — we are one of the biggest producers of anime […]

Netflix has announced that the latest animated film from the celebrated Studio Ghibli, Earwig and the Witch, will become available on the platform globally (excluding US & Japan) from November 18th. Netflix already boasts a catalogue of 21 films from Studio Ghibli, including classics such as Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro and Princess […]

FilmRise, the New York-based film and television studio and streaming network, has entered into a distribution deal with anime studio TMS Entertainment. The deal gives FilmRise AVoD rights to 38 anime television series and films which include over 1,100 episodes, in the US and Canada. The announcement was made by Max Einhorn, SVP of Acquisitions […]