The Funimation app and website will officially shut down on April 2, 2024, and user data, including subscriptions, will be migrated to Crunchyroll. The annual service subscription price will also increase from $54.95 per year to $99.99 per year – a change that will take effect on January 28, 2025.
One thing that won’t be ported to Crunchyroll is the Funimation Digital Copy. They can be added to a user’s library by entering a code included with a DVD or Blu-ray purchase, and they are digital streaming versions of purchased episodes or movies. Crunchyroll does not currently support this service.
The official statement was posted on Funimation’s website, which remains region-locked. Crunchyroll absorbed Funimation and Wakanim under its brand in 2022 – months after Sony’s purchase of Crunchyroll was made. Funimation previously merged with AnimeLab – a streaming service specifically for the Australia and New Zealand region. VRV, a service known as “Crunchyroll’s son,” was also merged with the platform last April.
Through Crunchyroll, Sony Entertainment now holds a large portion of the anime streaming market in the West. HIDIVE, AMC’s Netflix, and more recently Disney and Hulu are the only other platforms involved in anime streaming and, to a lesser extent, production.
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