Funimation has announced they’re planning on making some changes to their streaming service, but is this good or bad news for fans?
As many of you can attest to, plenty of anime watchers were disappointed when the two giants Funimation and Crunchyroll split up. That meant a number of shows were removed from one or the other, and although HIDIVE replaced Funimation in the VRV package, it still stung and, for some people, meant they had to pay more to get the anime they wanted. As I’ve discussed previously, this is only going to get worse moving forward as all the big media conglomerates look to launch their own video streaming platforms and packages.
But starting on April 10th, FunimationNow is going from free vs paid to free vs paid, paid more, or paid even more for US and Canadian fans.
Here’s what the current differences are between the unpaid and paid options:
And here’s what all the new tiers are going to be:
Funimation has stated that all current subscribers are going to be put on the Premium Plus tier “for as long as they keep their membership current” no matter if they’re on a monthly or annual plan. Two add-ons that currently cost $1.99 a month will also be discontinued: the Family & Friends option (up to 5 screens simultaneously) and Power-Up (free shipping at the store on $20+).
The Old vs New Plans
Anybody who is paying for FunimationNow is basically going to get those two add-ons for free starting in April. Maybe not amazing new benefits for subscribers, but hey, free is free. However, it is a sneaky way to encourage people to keep paying even when a season is rather dull or budgets get tight. Canceling even temporarily to save $5-6 a month means paying $2 more a month or $20 more a year down the line to get the same benefits. A fan will have to go without FunimationNow for a long time and only resubscribe for a short time in order to save money.
Of course, there’s always the option of joining back at the $5.99 a month rate, which is the same price as a subscription currently. Most of the benefits will be the exact same, although downloading to watch offline is not one of them. This may be important to people with Wi-Fi only devices or those with poor cell reception. This feature only launched in late December, so it’s not a long-term benefit that new or returning subscribers will be losing.
Now, Premium Plus Ultra…I think that’s going to be hard sell. At almost $100 a year, that’s getting into Amazon Prime or multi-channel VRV territory. Free shipping on all orders is nice, but how often is someone going to spend under $20 (compared to Premium Plus) at Funimation Shop? And how often do things sell out there in a day? As for the two rentals and an “anniversary gift” (probably a coupon), I know some rentals are overpriced in the digital market (>$10), but it seems a bit underwhelming considering you already have access to Funimation’s library and can probably pick up other titles in a sale at Funimation or elsewhere. If current subscribers are already getting Premium Plus benefits, I can’t see many people paying $20-40 more to get onboard Premium Plus Ultra. Maybe if they’re a new subscriber and are going for the $80 a year option. Even then, that $20 is probably just a way to sucker you into spending more money. Now, if it were Sentai…it’d be more tempting, as they tend to have fewer but more amazing discounts, and their default free shipping is higher ($75 versus $50 at Funimation Shop).
Still, while it’s not technically a price increase since the basic plan is the same as the price right now and subscribers are getting a free upgrade, Funimation is trying to get some extra dollars. This shouldn’t be too surprising considering even Netflix had a significant increase back in January. Plus, these three levels are inline and/or cheaper than the ones on Crunchyroll. But they give you a little more range with options for manga, Nickelodeon, music, and more.
Unlike Netflix, however, Hulu, which Funimation is partnering with, lowered their ad-based service by $2 a month. So going forward, Hulu becomes a more tempting option for anime fans who aren’t current FunimationNow subscribers. Yes, they will have to watch ads unlike on FunimationNow, but they will still be able to stream most of the big hits along with many other shows. There’s no yearly option for a discount, but various stores have offered Hulu gift cards at a discount (20%, free $5 with $50 purchase, etc.).
Final Comments
If you are interested in the upcoming Fruits Basket and all the other Funimation shows, you’d better sign up before April 10th. The three extra simultaneous screens or the free shipping offer may not be of interest, but this ensure you get offline viewing. Otherwise, I don’t think Premium Plus Ultra is worth your time, so future subscribers would probably best stick to the basic plan. That couple of dollars between Premium and Premium Plus may be better off going to other streaming services that are live (Crunchyroll, Netflix) or are going live soon (Disney’s service).