3 ms·
Crunchyroll is a unique case. It started out as a typical pirate video site that basically streamed and profited off anime fansubs, then later managed to go leg
by creamyhorror 14y ago
Crunchyroll is a unique case. It started out as a typical pirate video site that basically streamed and profited off anime fansubs, then later managed to go legitimate by licensing anime from Japanese studios (presumably because it had a large audience and the studios decided to experiment with streaming to the international market). It's a one-off occurrence that I don't think has been duplicated by any other site since.
It'd be great if more pirate streaming sites started up and became legitimate, but it's unlikely to happen so easily with content owners who are more protective of their copyrights (e.g. US studios/channels). They'd probably sue instead of discuss licensing terms.
Hulu and Netflix need to go everywhere, but content licensing by region will always stand in their way. Here we're stuck with high-priced cable TV packages that I don't find appealing, and Amazon's ebook store isn't even available.
- cjh_ 14y agoI wasn't actually aware of their history as a less-than-legitimate site, I guess that helped with the chicken and egg problem of content and audience. Region licensing is definitely one of the big killers, I find it odd (read: sad) how companies can buy all the rights to a product for a region, and then not do anything useful (at least not to me) with it.