https://arstechnica.com/culture/2024/02/funimation-dvds-included-forever-available-digital-copies-forever-ends-april-2/

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Sayonara --

Sony is erasing digital libraries that were supposed to be accessible
"forever"

Casualties afoot as Sony merges Funimation with 2021-acquired
Crunchyroll.

Scharon Harding - Feb 8, 2024 9:37 pm UTC

one piece
A shot from One Piece, one of the animes that Funimation made DVDs
for.
Crunchyroll: Inside Anime/YouTube

reader comments

82

How long is "forever"? When it comes to digital media, forever could
be as close as a couple of months away.

Funimation, a Sony-owned streaming service for anime, recently
announced that subscribers' digital libraries on the platform will be
unavailable after April 2. For years, Funimation had been telling
subscribers that they could keep streaming these digital copies of
purchased movies and shows, but qualifying it: "forever, but there
are some restrictions."

Funimation's parent company, Sony, bought rival anime streaming
service Crunchyroll in 2021. Since then, it was suspected that Sony
would merge the offerings together somehow. This week, we learned
how, as Funimation announced that its app and website would close on
April 2, and Funimation accounts will become Crunchyroll accounts.
Most of Funimation's catalog is already on Crunchyroll, Funimation's
announcement claimed.

But in addition to offering video streaming, Funimation also dubbed
and released anime as physical media, and sometimes those DVDs or
Blu-rays would feature a digital code. Subscribers to the Funimation
streaming service could add those digital codes to Funimation and
then stream the content from the platform.

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With Funimation claiming that customers could access these digital
copies "forever," I could see why someone might have thought this was
a reliable way to access their purchased media. For people lacking
the space, resources, or interest in maintaining a library of
physical media, this was a good way to preserve treasured shows and
movies without spending more money. It also provided a simple way to
access purchased media online if you were, for example, away on a
trip and had a hankering to watch some anime DVDs you bought.

But soon, people who may have discarded or lost their physical media
or lack a way to play DVDs and Blu-rays won't have a way to access
the digital copies that they were entitled to through their physical
copy purchase.

Funimation's announcement says:

    Please note that Crunchyroll does not currently support
    Funimation Digital copies, which means that access to previously
    available digital copies will not be supported. However, we are
    continuously working to enhance our content offerings and provide
    you with an exceptional anime streaming experience. We appreciate
    your understanding and encourage you to explore the extensive
    anime library available on Crunchyroll.

Regarding refunds, Funimation's announcement directed customers to
its support team "to see the available options based on your payment
method," but there's no mention of getting money back from a DVD or
Blu-ray that you might not have purchased had you known you couldn't
stream it "forever."

Page: 1 2 Next -

reader comments

82
 
Scharon Harding Scharon is Ars Technica's Senior Product Reviewer
writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer technology, including
laptops, mechanical keyboards, and monitors. She's based in Brooklyn.
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