Crunchyroll discontinues their Download-2-own service

chaos

chaos

The Boss
"As Crunchyroll continues to evolve, we add new features and remove ones that don't perform well. Recently we've made a decision to discontinue our Download-to-Own service, which lets users purchase DRM-free, downloadable videos of our popular shows. We believe online streaming video is the future will continue to focus on those efforts. Starting March 31, 2010, no new purchases of video downloads will be allowed. However, your existing downloads will continue to work until May 1, 2010. Please download and save your video files by May 1, 2010.

As an alternative, we offer high quality, ad-free streams through our Premium Membership service. It offers over 50% of currently airing Anime titles in Japan and thousands of catalog episodes for as little as $5/month.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact [email protected]."
 
chaos said:
"Recently we've made a decision to discontinue our Download-to-Own service, which lets users purchase DRM-free, downloadable videos of our popular shows. We believe online streaming video is the future"
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Isn't that a bit like iTunes saying they're going to stop selling music and become last.fm?

Doesn't that seem a little... backwards?
 
ayase said:
chaos said:
"Recently we've made a decision to discontinue our Download-to-Own service, which lets users purchase DRM-free, downloadable videos of our popular shows. We believe online streaming video is the future"
Click to expand...
Isn't that a bit like iTunes saying they're going to stop selling music and become last.fm?

Doesn't that seem a little... backwards?
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Well, I guess users of Crunchyroll don't 'buy to download' =/ It depends, what was the pricing like for episodes on crunchyroll? I was pretty surprised to see that episodes are 'DRM-Free'.
 
Simply put, it seems that they didn't made any money out of it, so decided to remove the service. What sort of implications this will have on their JP partnerships is yet to be uncovered.
 
The whole thing just seems bizarre. If people weren't willing to pay to own, but were willing to pay simply to watch then I understand other people even less than I thought...
 
Does CR get good traffic, actually? Unless your part of the anime fandom already, I bet you wouldn't realise there were legal online subs of stuff. It's not like typing a shows name into Google brings up CrunchyRoll - it should, but it doesn't. Anyway, yeah, even if I had a subscription to the site I bet I would just stream the stuff. You can stream in HD with ease, so why download?
 
Seems bizarre to me.

I mean, I WON'T stream anime, under any circumstances. Broadband coverage in my prehistoric corner of the UK won't let me anyway, but I wouldn't do it even if I could.

Streaming video is the future? Ugh. No thanks. I want anime on nice shiny DVDs. All the way.
 
That might have something to do with the studios they are paired with, however, I've never noticed anything. It's plausible that they are the ones they tend to advertise, though. I try to ignore everything and run to the search box whenever I go on the site.
 
Perhaps it was also causing issues in those rare cases where a show is picked up by CR and then subsequently by an R1 company for DVD. Maybe the R1 DVD companies were getting less tempted by series where they wouldn't be able to grab the DTO right as well for themselves, and the fact that CR wasn't finding it profitable led to a natural shake up?

R
 
For me, neither downloading or streaming are the future. Last thing I want to do is be sat in front of my laptop watching anime - I prefer dvd/blu-ray.
 
Considering the newer sets let connect to the internet (games consoles, for intance) I'm pretty sure stream will really be the way forward.

To get it righ is going to be a long way yet, but I remember this been discussed when iTunes first came into light. Now everyone take it for granted that you can buy a music file...
 
have to agree with Chaos

as i was saying to Arbles, surely it would be cheaper to stream anime and do webshows via streaming (like they do with the x-box) that it is to start a TV channel in the UK
 
Maxon said:
Project-2501 said:
Is it just me or does CR seem to have a large number of total fanservice shows?
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Pretty much. They show very little worth watching.
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You'll have noticed that the sentiment behind these statements is basically applicable to all anime produced these days.

They're showing one of the three fanservice shows from this season, and at the same time they're showing DRRR!.
 
CR shows things that are:
a)not licensed for DVD in the US (a few exceptions but not many)
b) airing on TV Tokyo
c) unlikely to get licensed for DVD distro in the US
d) are cheap to license (barring a miracle don't expect stuff like K-on!!)
e) are profitable for them (they do look at what is popular with members and non members).

They do give membership revenue to the shows you actually watch, watch the shows you like, it makes them likely to go after similar things.

They're showing 14 shows of which 1/2 are fanservice this season, though I accept the back catalogue does have a few but it's not a particularly large portion.

People who want to buy a permanent copy tend to buy DVDs/BDs. Not losing them when your HDD crashes, no annoying DRM issues and being able to import them being fairly good reasons why.
 
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