The year has only just started, and already I can tell one thing for sure: This is going to be an incredible time for all of us who are fans of anime. New titles like Dimension W are showing the amazing things that can happen when anime studios and Funimation co-produce titles together. New technologies are making anime more available on more screens in more places than ever before. New fans are getting access to the shows they love, and the shows they will love, especially with major updates to our streaming service rolling out over the next several months. All of this is amazing for anime, and everyone at Funimation is honored to be a part of it.
With all this change happening so fast, it’s important to focus on what matters most: you. Our fellow fans of anime. Some of you noticed that our home video dubs were going up on streaming later than they were supposed to, and you let us know about it – thank you! We took a look at the schedule, but we also took this moment to ask ourselves “How can we make this better for ALL fans – sub fans, dub fans, and even fans who just want to buy shows so they can own them forever?”
We knew we could create a schedule that worked better for everyone, so we wanted to make that change now. Going forward, we will continue to release preview episodes of each home video dub and sub on streaming up to six weeks before the product ever hits shelves. This will give everyone a chance to sample the show, find out if they like it, and pre-order the home video if they want. Then, when the home video is released (if not earlier), we’ll post the rest of the dubbed and updated subtitled episodes to our streaming subscribers, giving them the same chance to watch the show as anyone who bought it on disc. Episodes for our Broadcast Dub shows will still be released just weeks after they air in Japan.
You can go to Funimation.com/schedule to find your favorite show, and see exactly when it will be released this year. And, we hope you’ll go to FunimationNow.com to see all of the news about our streaming platform. We have so much coming out for subscribers this year – starting with our brand new mobile apps later this month, and many more great digital experiences in the months to come!
Thank you again to all of you who love anime as much as we do. We couldn’t do this without you!
-Gen
President / CEO – Funimation
Otakon 2014?
Thank you Funimation for listening o your fans :). It’s fair that the home video release and remaining episodes of a show are on the same day. 🙂
Is there a posted schedule of releases for digital marketplaces such as iTunes, Xbox Video, the Playstation Store, etc.? I’ve noticed releases on these platforms do not tend to line up with home video releases. It would definitely be good information to have for those of us that prefer this method of purchasing Funimation content.
thank you for the info I’m glad to see the schedule was updated and episodes are coming out more like they used to.
Funimation Rocks!!
Some have guessed it may be less fans buying discs in favor of asap streams = trying to boost sales. However IIRC one of the main reasons why FUNi used to stream all dub episodes before the home video release was because retailers like rightstuf would ship 2 weeks early. Within 24 hours some fan could illegally upload all episodes online (from their discs) & a different paying customer who didn’t have priority shipping or lives outside of Iowa (rightstuf HQ) feels like a loser having to wait…
Releasing the streams on the same date as the official home video release is fine but doesn’t completely solve the issue mentioned above. Also IIRC survey results shared on ANNCast said fans prefer to watch all episodes first & buy later on; not sure if this new strategy of same day availability will change much. But if a dub is very terrible e.g. Prison School it doesn’t matter what the plan is, fans won’t buy unless there’s a recast & redub. Nobody seemed to mind a change in VAs for Sgt. Frog
Would ship? Rightstuf still ships series early.
is the apple tv apple only for apple tv 4
or will apple tv 3 be suported
sorry apple tv apple = apple tv app
Agreed! I’d love to know why the English dubs of The Rolling Girls and Attack on Titan aren’t available digitally from Google Play…
Cool, I thought dubs on here were the same day as the home video release. Nice to see everything back on track, now I must continue on my journey to watch all these shows
It’s been a year now since broadcast dubs started and we are still waiting for home disc release of Absolute Duo and Assassination Class room!!! And from the looks we won’t see it before May now!! What is the hold up Take my freaking money already!
Neither Funimation nor Sentai seem to be selling new seasons on iTunes anymore.