 Sony Pictures Television, a California-based television production and distribution studio, announced on Monday that it will acquire a 95-percent stake in shares of North American anime distributor Funimation. Gen Fukunaga, the Texas-based company's founder and chief executive, will retain a minority stake and remain in his current position.Deadline Hollywood reports that Sony Pictures Television will pay US$143 million for the controlling stake in Funimation, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. The purchase values the distributor at US$150 million and will put it under the umbrella of Sony Pictures Television Networks, which jointly operates the Animax and Kids Station networks with Sony's Japanese businesses. "Around the world, Sony's networks have been major players in the anime space for nearly two decades, and in more recent years we have rapidly increased our networks' over-the-top and digital offerings to consumers. With the acquisition of Funimation, the combined [intellectual properties] of Animax, Kids Station, and Funimation allows us to deliver the best anime to fans across all screens and platforms," said Andy Kaplan, President of Worldwide Networks at Sony Pictures Television. Bloomberg first reported in May that Universal and Sony Pictures had been interested in a controlling stake of Funimation. According to the report, Universal decided not to proceed with the talks because it already has a multi-year contract to distribute Funimation's Blu-ray and DVD releases. Meanwhile, a separate Sony unit has been a partner in the ad-free anime streaming service FunimationNow. Funimation, which records more than US$100 million in annual sales, has been experiencing double-digit growth since 2013 according to the company's chief operating officer in an interview with Bloomberg. This figure is attractive to Hollywood studios that are looking for new content with a loyal fan base and a growing revenue stream in both theatrical releases and home videos. Bloomberg reports that Funimation has 200 employees spread out among its offices in Texas, New York, and Japan. Its Texas studio produces English dubs for an average of 23 series each week and plans to release 80 shows on the FunimationNow streaming service this year. Source: Deadline Hollywood, Bloomberg, Polygon |
mta_pnFeb 17, 2022 6:09 PM
| Good for the industry. |
| Stay Home and Wash Your Hands. Protect Yourself. Protect Your Loved Ones. Protect Your Community and Help Defeat Coronavirus. |
shanimebib said: Well, it's probably good for the industry because Sony has a lot of money but it's way too soon to tell if it's gonna be good for the consumer (and if it's not good for the consumer it's probably bad for the industry in the long run).Good for the industry. |
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| It's always nice to see investment in the anime industry, particularly organizations responsible for distribution over here. I'm not sure what this actually might mean for the future of Funimation (and their licenses), though. Is this good or bad? |
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| There's an interesting possible future development here with Sony having access to both Animax and Funimation. Animax has a large presence on television networks across Asia, and they have been known to produce their own dubs for Asia's English-speaking markets. Given that Funimation's expertise is in English dub production, it's possible that English Animax channels will see more dubs produced by Funimation. |
| And nothing of value was lost |
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| Stop freaking out about Sony owning Funimation since they have been releasing anime worldwide for over a decade. They aren’t just going to start slapping Rob Schneider and the sort in voice acting roles or heavy edit like Tokyopop. |
| added the fourth most popular anime onto this site |
EvenJellyOn said: Stop freaking out about Sony owning Funimation since they have been releasing anime worldwide for over a decade. They aren’t just going to start slapping Rob Schneider and the sort in voice acting roles or heavy edit like Tokyopop. I mean it's not like Sony owns Aniplex or anything If anything this is an improvement (BD prices aside) Mod edit: merged double post |
BrandonAug 1, 2017 2:01 AM
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| Booooo Last thing we need is another big company putting pressure on Funiroll and remove the free tier like Hulu did or put up more paywalls like Amazon Strike with their double paywall. |
| It can't be an improvement, Animax Asia isn't that amazing so do not expect better content or similar, same for Kids, they keep repeating some old series and few new ones. Funimation could change for worst. Yes, Sony has the money, but they aren't going to invest in creating new series. Also, one example was Animax Latin America. Sony LA bought the channel. All the persons expected that Sony could deliver new anime because that was the first idea, but after few months all the anime content was removed and changed by soap operas and other Latin America shows. |
| So with Aniplex and Funimation under Sony we can assume that we are in good hands. |
Mexiguy said: EvenJellyOn said: Stop freaking out about Sony owning Funimation since they have been releasing anime worldwide for over a decade. They aren’t just going to start slapping Rob Schneider and the sort in voice acting roles or heavy edit like Tokyopop. I mean it's not like Sony owns Aniplex or anything Aniplex is under Sony Music Entertainment, and on the Japanese side. Sony Pictures Television is on the U.S. side. The two units operate on different business models. PipeBoss said: Also, one example was Animax Latin America. Sony LA bought the channel. All the persons expected that Sony could deliver new anime because that was the first idea, but after few months all the anime content was removed and changed by soap operas and other Latin America shows. Sony shuttered Animax Latin America and its successor Sony Spin because it launched its own streaming service Crackle, which is accessible in the region. The expectation is that Funimation programming will also appear on Crackle in the future. |
arsonalJul 31, 2017 6:38 PM
arsonal said: Aniplex is under Sony Music Entertainment, and on the Japanese side. Sony Pictures Television is on the U.S. side. The two units operate on different business models. Yup, Sony Japan is different than Sony Pictures U.S also the licenses are different, Sony Japan and Aniplex broadcast for Japan, invest in series for the insiders. However, even if they own the license, it is just for Japan, not for outside. An example is the video games. Sony Play Station division and PSN store have several games in Japan that aren't available in other countries. And they own the licenses of that games, but Sony US and Sony Japan are different and operate in another way. The same will happen for anime under the same idea of business so again do not expect that it will improve for better because it won't. |
| So I'm guessing we can only that the Funi prices don't end up becoming Aniplex prices. |
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| Maybe theyll finally rerelease blood+ |
| well, at least we might not have to put up with funimation's weird left-wing/feminist insert dialogue where it doesn't belong (hopefully) |
"I came here to sniff Madoka panties and kick witch ass and I am all out 'doka panties" - Homora Akemi |
| Aniplexs' owners? Expect to pay import tier prices for licensed BDs. |
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| The only thing of worth funimation has is shounen series, I wonder how the publishers will react now that all their titles are going to sony. |
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| Maybe this will finally improve Funimation or utterly destroy it. Not that it matters. Just leave Sentai Filmworks alone since they're like the only company that has good customer service and BD releases. |
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Fitts said: Sjo said: well, at least we might not have to put up with funimation's weird left-wing/feminist insert dialogue where it doesn't belong (hopefully) Left-wing bias and radical feminism aren't the same. Please avoid being a complete idiot after starting with an idea that is somewhat intelligent, that being the idea that Funimation is unprofessional in the way it may or may not post things that piss you (and other viewers?) off. But yay, I just wanted any kind of movement in the industry. Things were getting boring. any side is moronic, especially the left wing. radical feminism is just a part of it. so whichever you decide to choose, you're still an idiot. insults beget insults, as a mention. for the future, don't get so triggered by what others say. it just makes you look obsessive over your views and beliefs. |
MZXJJul 31, 2017 10:47 PM
"I came here to sniff Madoka panties and kick witch ass and I am all out 'doka panties" - Homora Akemi |
| Lots of companies now want to eat this cake (Anime industry) such as Nexflix, Amazon and now is Sony. I think the investors want to expolit this aspect of entertainment. It's good for Anime industry. |
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realsmart987 said: Sony Pictures Television also has shares in Japan like Animax,.. Moreover, Sony is a big producer in anime industry so you shouldn't worry too much about it.Hashimoto_Yuu said: Lots of companies now want to eat this cake (Anime industry) such as Nexflix, Amazon and now is Sony. I think the investors want to expolit this aspect of entertainment. It's good for Anime industry. I worry because bigger companies that buy smaller companies will often kill the creativity that fans and customers liked about the smaller companies even if they don't actually kill the companies by firing everyone. But my main worry is I heard other companies in other industries buy controlling shares of stock in their competitors just so they can close them down to stop them from competing. |
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| Hey guys, Jay here from Funimation HQ. This is by far the most positive and optimistic conversation I've seen thus far in the dark realm known as the internet. We are stoked to join the Sony Pictures Television Networks family. With their reach and Funimation's understanding of anime, I see expansion of the anime network, increased viewership and improved efficiency with the combined goal of creating anime experiences fans love and the ability to deliver anime globally across all screens and platforms. Have a great Tuesday everyone. For the lovers on here - It's National Girlfriend Day... you're welcome ;) Jay Hairston | Funimation Community Manager | Twitter: @JayHairston  |
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FTFY. It's not like we have social life or anything :^) |
JayHairston said: Hey guys, Jay here from Funimation HQ. This is by far the most positive and optimistic conversation I've seen thus far in the dark realm known as the internet. We are stoked to join the Sony Pictures Television Networks family. With their reach and Funimation's understanding of anime, I see expansion of the anime network, increased viewership and improved efficiency with the combined goal of creating anime experiences fans love and the ability to deliver anime globally across all screens and platforms. Have a great Tuesday everyone. For the lovers on here - It's National Girlfriend Day... you're welcome ;) Jay Hairston | Funimation Community Manager | Twitter: @JayHairston I'm happy for you guys. But I am from Europe, so I can't even access your website. I hope it'll become global so that I can watch and buy the dvd/blu-rays ;_; But that's just a dream right now.. |
JayHairston said: Hey guys, Jay here from Funimation HQ. This is by far the most positive and optimistic conversation I've seen thus far in the dark realm known as the internet. We are stoked to join the Sony Pictures Television Networks family. With their reach and Funimation's understanding of anime, I see expansion of the anime network, increased viewership and improved efficiency with the combined goal of creating anime experiences fans love and the ability to deliver anime globally across all screens and platforms. Have a great Tuesday everyone. For the lovers on here - It's National Girlfriend Day... you're welcome ;) Jay Hairston | Funimation Community Manager | Twitter: @JayHairston Please kill region blocking. Europe has a lot of money, you know. |
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| I hope that Funimation goes to shit, garbage company. |
| :3 |
| As long as they dont jack up the price of blu rays more so than they already do, funimation used to be so bad at dvd releases and I dont want to return to that. |
Immahnoob said: Jizzy, I know you have no idea how to argue for shit, tokiyashiro said: Jizzy as you would call yourself because youre a dick The most butthurt award goes to you And clearly you havent watched that many shows thats why you cant determine if a show is unique or not Or maybe you're just a child who likes common stuffs where hero saves the day and guys gets all the girls. Sad taste you have there kid you came up to me in the first place making you look more like a kid who got slapped without me even knowing it and start crying about it to me |
| Yeah, I'm seeing this as a bad sign. Sony Pictures isn't exactly something I look at and say "oh I sure hope they get their hands on anything I'm remotely interested in." It could work out fine. But, it could also be a total disaster. Have to hope for the best, but can't blame anyone for pessimism. |
| Honestly I am worried. I have seen so many crappy stuff many subdivisions of Sony Pictures has done to Animax channels so really I hope this does not end in a bad way. |
Nothing129 said: Well do I got something to tell you...I sure hope this doesnt happen to Crunchyroll. |
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