Crunchyroll
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
Type of site | Video streaming service |
| Founded | June 2006 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Industry | Anime industry, Anime, Asian Drama and Video on Demand |
| URL | http://www.crunchyroll.com |
| Registration | Optional |
Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content. Founded in 2006 by a group of UC Berkeley undergraduate students, Crunchyroll's distribution channel and partnership program delivers content to over five million online community members worldwide. Crunchyroll is funded by Venrock.[2][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.[citation needed] 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 that it has acquired the North American DVD rights to 5 Centimeters Per Second. It is the first DVD release licensed by Crunchyroll.[7]
As of summer 2011, 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]
See also
- Anime on Demand, a website streaming anime in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
- NicoNico, a website streaming anime in the United States.
References
- ^ "Crunchyroll.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-07-02.
- ^ "Venrock". Venrock.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Crunchyroll CEO: Making Online Anime Pay". ICv2. 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ "Video Site with Unauthorized Anime Gets US$4M Capital". Anime News Network. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ "Funimation, Bandai Entertainment Respond on Crunchyroll". Anime News Network. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ "TV Tokyo to Stream Naruto via Crunchyroll Worldwide". Anime News Network. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ "Crunchyroll Adds Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second DVD". Anime News Network. 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
- ^ "Crunchyroll – Frequently Asked Questions". 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
External links
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