AMC Networks has acquired anime distributor Sentai. Financial phrases of the deal haven’t been disclosed, however the buy contains Sentai’s Hidive streaming service. It will be a part of AMC’s steady of “targeted” streaming platforms, which already contains companies like Shudder, IFC and SundanceTV. As a part of the deal, AMC has additionally picked up Sentai Studios, the Anime Network and the corporate’s in depth catalog of anime titles. Some of the initiatives Sentai holds the license to incorporate Ok-On! from Kyoto Animation and Haikyu!! from Production IG.
The acquisition comes lower than a 12 months since Sony accomplished a $1.175 billion deal to purchase Crunchyroll from AT&T. At the time, the corporate mentioned it could work rapidly to create a unified anime subscription service that may function content material from each Funimation, which Sony has owned since 2017, and Crunchyroll. If nothing else, right now’s deal reveals simply how massive of a enterprise anime has grow to be within the west.