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 its acquisition of the North American DVD rights to 5 Centimeters Per Second. This was 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]
Availability
Free access to Crunchyroll is available on desktop browsers, and devices with Windows phone, iOS and Android that are connected to a Wi-Fi source. However, not all content is offered for free. Some content requires a paid subscription service, while other content becomes free after a delay, usually a week after availability for the paid members. Some titles are subscription only, based on licensing agreements.
With paid memberships, streaming to select Windows phone devices (with OS 7.5 or higher), Roku devices, Boxee, PlayStation 3[9] and Xbox 360[10] consoles, and Vizio and Google Internet enabled televisions is available. This service will be available on Samsung Internet enabled televisions in late 2012.
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.
- Daftar/Tabel -- US anime simulcasts
References
External links
4,173 (February 2013[update])