Funimation Now Joins Amazon Prime Video Channels
Funimation’s catalogue of Japanese anime is now available to stream as an Amazon Prime Video Channel, Amazon announced this afternoon. A Prime Add-on subscription, the Funimation Now channel will cost an additional £4.99 per month on top of existing Amazon Prime membership costs. A standalone subscription to their Funimation Now service, which already has apps on Amazon’s Fire TV and Kindle platforms, also costs £4.99 per month.
The launch of the Funimation Now video channel includes a wealth of the company’s popular titles, including Attack On Titan, My Hero Academia, and Yuri!!! On ICE. A full selection of the titles on offer, can be found on the channel’s Amazon page. (Disclosure: the aforementioned link is an affiliate link. Please read Anime UK News’ statement on affiliate schemes).
Commenting on this announcement, Alex Green, Amazon Prime Video’s Europeam MD of Channels and Sport, commented:
“It’s great that we can now offer UK Prime members access to popular anime shows with the addition of Sony’s FunimationNow on Prime Video Channels, … FunimationNow adds an incredible line up of anime to the wide selection of entertainment we offer customers on Prime Video in the UK.”
“We are pleased to be working with Amazon to offer FunimationNow as part of their Prime Video Channels line-up,” added Gen Fukunaga, President and CEO at Funimation. “This will further expand our global footprint and enables us to bring the best in anime to many more fans in the UK.”
This news follows the end of a business relationship between Funimation Entertainment and the dedicated anime streaming service Crunchyroll, which went into effect on Saturday. This saw many Funimation-owned properties leave the Crunchyroll streaming service, with their Japanese audio versions joining Funimation Now’s previously English dub-only service.
This is separate to Amazon’s own investments in the anime medium, which has seen the media giant simulcast anime titles like Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, and this season’s Boarding School Juliet.
