The future of streaming for FUNimation
Several years ago, the music industry began a series of very public law suits against various internet pirates for the distribution of their music. A massive dialogue ensued and has since generated enough content to fill hundreds of encyclopedias. Without the legal high ground, some pirates generated clever reasoning for their positions; some began flawed moralizing on the issue, and many others just stuck up their middle fingers and dared the industry to get them. Regardless of all the hubbub, those few who were unfortunate enough to get caught were charged massive fines. In hopes to continue their ways, the pirates rallied under the undeniably true mantra “you can’t catch us all”; however, that was never the point.
The reason the music industry poured in so much effort to stop pirating was to generate fear. Previously, everyone knew there was zero in one hundred million chance of getting in trouble for downloading music. After the music industries began sending out settlement claims and court summons, the risk of getting sued began to outweigh the cost of actually buying the music, and now, online distribution of music is a legal multi-billion dollar industry.
Flash forward to today, where the CEO of FUNimation himself has threatened to take legal actions against someone who illegally distributed episode 403 of One Piece from one of their internet channels (source). Though this conflict does have significant differences from the music industries’ struggle, I believe that FUNimation’s ability to profit from their new venture will depend on what they decide to do right now.
What FUNimation has to do is to sue the individual(s) responsible for the leak and loudly publicize it to set the precedent that such behavior will not be tolerated. Furthermore, as time goes by, they will have to continue to take legal action against people who rip and upload their subtitled episodes, and they will have to take it even further by taking legal action against those individuals who fansub the higher quality Japanese raws. The reason FUNimation can and must do this now is because they have finally created a product that can directly compete with fansubs: a free, decent quality stream of an anime episode that is available at or near the time of Japan’s release. If they fail to establish their various channels as the places to acquire anime, then they will continue to lose market share to pirates, and they may lose what may possibly be their last stand.
A legitimate argument against law suits would be the fear that FUNimation may alienate its consumer base and do more harm than good, but the only major difference in what FUNimation offers and what fansubbers offer is largely the quality of the file. Considering that fans ultimately get their anime fix quickly and for free, I doubt that the majority of fans would outright boycott FUNimation’s anime should the company choose to send cease and desist letters and in extreme cases, file law suits.
From what I’ve observed, FUNimation’s major competitors are rippers, illegal streaming sites and fansubbers. Rippers are no real threat unless they manage to acquire and distribute a file significantly before the release date, so increased security measures should minimize this issue. Streaming sites can neutered with cease and desist letters or shut down entirely by direct requests to the web hosting provider. The primary strategy should be demoralizing fansubbers. Fansubbing is by nature extremely taxing venture. With many of the “arguments” levied in the past now moot, FUNimation has to mark its territory by essentially harassing groups into submission by bombarding them with a combination of C&D letters, server attacks, and if all else fails law suits.
Much like the music industry, the purpose of FUNimation’s lawsuits is not to eradicate all fansubs and rips. It’s to drive these forms of piracy to the fringes long enough that people become accustomed to using the legal channels. However, there should be a significant difference between FUNimation’s approach and the music industry’s approach to piracy. I believe that FUNimation should only target the distribution centers of anime whereas the music industry has targeted both the distribution centers and the individual downloaders. The reason it shouldn’t go after individual downloaders is because the company is essentially offering a free product. It is a waste of resources to change people’s viewing habits by suing them; all FUNimation has to do is to restrict access to alternative channels (or at least make them more inconvenient to use) and then, people will naturally flow towards legal channels.
In order to ensure that this sytem does not die in its infancy, FUNimation needs to take a strong legal stance while people are still adjusting to the new status quo. After all, laws are respected only if there is a genuine expectation that they will be enforced.
Should such a move happen (Funimation being more proactive in stamping out fansubs that they have streaming licenses for), I think that for the rest of us non-Americans affected by this move couldn’t give a shit.
I’m not watching Phantom, One Piece, or FMA:B, but if Funimation provided no alternative for those geoblocked out from streaming and acted like the internet consisted of Americans and Americans alone, I’m sorry, Funi, you can go fuck yourself.
But hey, it’s the internet after all. Can’t C&D someone who doesn’t have an e-mail address, hmm? I’m glad that groups like Eclipse have never kowtowed to this bullshit, simply because the internet, shockingly enough, is larger than America, and ignoramuses who think otherwise are utterly retarded in that respect.
@Owen S
Yeah, but doesn’t Funi have an obligation to protect its licenses on the internet? I mean, I can think of a million things that can go wrong if Funi takes a punitive approach with what is a rather fledgling fanbase, particularly on the PR front, but if they’re thinking “bottom line” and the long term profitability of this mode of distribution, what are the consequences of hammering down on sections of the community who either can’t or won’t buy their products anyway. As far as I can see, all they’d be doing is basically protecting their market. That it comes to the detriment of other markets probably is neither here nor there to them (and, if we want to think about it pragmatically, nor should it be, since Funi has no responsibilities or obligations to consumers outside of NA).
But, on this topic as a whole, if Funi want to be a major influence in the streaming game, the first thing they need to do is to actually set up security that can’t be bypassed with such ridiculous ease. People seem to be enraged at the alleged perpetrator (Funi apparently knows their identity) but seem to ignore the fact that, given Funi’s water-thin “security”, it was an inevitability. Funi’s security was a joke and they’ve lost a lot of credibility over this recent incident. They’ll have to work pretty hard to get it back.
Funi has a long and hard PR/marketing battle ahead to make their product competitive, and one of the first things they have to do is address the perception that fansubs are better translations. Either that, or be the first ones to release. Fansub viewers fall in two categories: those who want speed, and those who want quality. If Funi can’t convince the community that they’re first in at least one category, they’ll never relegate fansubs to the fringes. Needless to say that’s a tough perception to overturn, since it’s so long-standing. I’m not sure Funi has the resources to run a PR campaign to change people’s perceptions on this matter.
When I read this article, I’m immediately reminded of the much-hated local anime licensee company, ODEX. Idealistically, ODEX and (just perhaps) FUNimation are doing what I believe is wrong on their part – playing the “piracy police” (or in the case of One Piece, the World Government :]). I’m not saying that the rationale behind what they’re doing – proposing streaming as the alternative and hopefully ultimate solution against fansubbing – is wrong, because they’re doing what they can to save themselves. The thing is, I wish to know what are their objectives as an entertainment company – to be a promoter or demoter of anime. Proposing streaming is a solution after all, albeit a little naive, but if they proceed with lawsuits eventually, then I’m afraid they’ll be the next ODEX (and just look at where they are right now; a big mess that even resort to selling 13-episode boxsets at even $5).
What I have been looking forward to, is for someone who can actually take advantage on the fansubbing as a mean to solve the problem instead. Ultimately, people resort to downloading because of its high quality, speed, it’s free and perhaps even out of misplaced loyalty to fansubbing. The big question to me is, how this method of receiving anime can be used to curb the problem itself rather than offering an alternative medium because I think other media just won’t cut it.
if Funimation provided no alternative for those geoblocked out from streaming and acted like the internet consisted of Americans and Americans alone, I’m sorry, Funi, you can go fuck yourself.
Owen while I understand international fans pain, Funi is not blocking their streams out of spite. They only have permission from Toei/Animax to stream these series to a North American audience. That is how licensing works. The series is licensed to each country/region separately. In the case of FMA at least I know that most of Europe now has its own online streams, same with Australia & Asia.
It’s about scapegoating.
At their panel at Anime Expo last year, Crunchyroll showed that only 37% of their traffic comes from USA/Canada. It’s quite clear that “the rest of the world” is much bigger than the USA. Therefore, even if Funimation were able to get 100% of R1 fansub viewers to watch legal streams, that wouldn’t even cut fansub viewship in half! In fact, it would give them a great rallying cry. We give you everything you would want, but there are still these EEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL pirates STEALING our anime! Let’s hate them! Why can’t those vile thieves in Croatia start their own anime company so they can sell DVDs legally to the dozens of fans there! I’ve had people tell me on my blog that they might WANT to make subs in their native language, but there’s so few people there that watch anime that it doesn’t make any sense to do them in anything but English.
And it’s relatively painless to do this because the rest of the world is an easy scapegoat. The overwhelming majority of the rest of the world will never buy R1 DVDs. That’s basically limited to Europeans getting favorable exchange rates, like England. Therefore, no matter what happens, Funimation could never lose their business. So from this perspective, they can do or say whatever they want about them without having to worry about directly losing customers.
Of course, it’s not that simple. Maybe it’s an outgrowth of the last 8 years of US foreign policy, but it’s not like the rest of the world needs more reasons to dislike things associated with US arrogance. This could cause them to become even more hostile. I won’t attribute the One Piece leak to malice, but I would not be surprised if every new episode of every new series gets people trying to poke around their servers to see what mischief they can cause. Maybe see a DDOS the day of an eagerly-anticipated series premiere. That sort of thing.
Jpmeyer as I said above its not US arrogance. Funimation does not have the right to distribute these streams to the rest of the world. If international fans want to watch fansubs of licensed work then let them. I am certainly not saying they should stop because the series is released in America. But that doesn’t mean they have to act like they are sticking it to the man because Funimation is depriving them of their anime. Most fansubs just go underground anyways so I don’t see what the issue is. I have never seen fansubs really stop because a series was licensed. But really I find blaming Funimation because the streams are not available internationally to be a little silly and immature. And as I said above while every country might not have access to streams yet a lot of countries other than the US are also gaining access.
Lets look at just how many countries besides the US have access to FMA for example. Not saying there are not countries left out but this boohoo only the US is getting the official streams so we can steal all we want is a little silly.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-04-03/funimation-to-stream-2009-fullmetal-alchemist-on-april-9
http://www.fullmetal-alchemist.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12700
And besides I don’t see how stealing a stream before the episode even aired in Japan has anything to do with the lack of fansubs for international fans. True Funimation should have secured their site better there is no question about that but to me what happened is just plain arrogance and entitlement issue on the part of fans. They couldn’t even wait until the episode officially aired before watching it fansub or otherwise? Just pathetic and I have no sympathy for these fans.
Yes, Sorrow-kun, but there’s a huge difference between “We have to protect our licenses” and “I’m sorry, internet, you happen to share the same lingua franca as America, and guess what? WE DON’T CARE!”
Also, what jp said.
“We can’t show it in your area” is not what angers people. It might annoy them, because they would watch the stream if they could, but it doesn’t make them angry.
What makes them angry is being vilifed by the “Everyone that isn’t watching this stream is a thief! Fansubbers are killing our company! Look down at these people because they’re not true fans!”
mindset being fostered. It’s frustrating when someone wants to say, talk on a forum about something and then people pile on to shit on them when they say that they watched something as a fansub.
@Owen S, jpmeyer, etc
If FUNimation could get the license to distribute a stream worldwide, I don’t doubt that it would. I would think that that sort of thing would be something they’d consider after their North American stream proves to be more successful — if they could limit the fansub consumption of their legal audience, it would might sense that they might pursue the rest of the world, but if they can’t even tame North America, they why spend the effort. Meanwhile, there are undoubtedly local companies in the rest of the world that are capable of doing the same thing FUNi’s doing for their region. Just like the USA isn’t the only part of the world and the Internet, FUNimation isn’t the only company in the world and on the Internet. What a double-sided way of looking at it if you’re to blame FUNimation for geoblocking while simultaneously wanting a US company to service the world?
But I agree with jpmeyer, it is troublesome when those that DO have access to the stream vilify everyone else for continuing to seek out fansubs. I’ll admit to occasionally being one of those people and forgetting that not all the fans I talk to or am friends with are in North America. Remind me and I’ll let it go and just be pissed at my fellow, dumbass Americans who aren’t supporting the streams.
@Owen S
As Sorrow-kun pointed out, FUNimation has no obligation to anyone outside of NA. Regardless, my point was never to eliminate fansubs of licensed shows altogether. It was to increase the difficulty of actually acquiring those subs to a point that people will simply use legal means if they are available.
@SK
I’m of the opinion that FUNimation will not be able to return to profitability selling anime should they fail to change people’s perceptions, so I don’t see how they have a choice but to convince the masses they have a desirable product.
@AC
If I recall correctly, ODEX sued individual downloaders of anime. This is partially why I suggest FUNimation shouldn’t go after individual downloaders. Unlike the music industry, FUNi is catering towards a very small market where alienating even a few can actually hurt the bottom line.
As for utilizing fansubs as part of the solution… I think you can ask a Harvard PhD to create a model for this and they would still fail. I believe FUNimation has chosen to stream anime because they’ve seen far larger ventures into the medium (like Hulu) succeed. I don’t think they have the brainpower or the resources to actually develop an unprecedented model for integrating fansubs.
@jpmeyer
I find your stance rather amusing. If FUNimation got 100% of their respective market “buying” their products, I fail to see why they should or would care about other regions. Furthermore, I don’t see how FUNimation is scapegoating anyone. Over the last few years, the size of the anime fandom in NA has been increasing (based on the increasing attendance at conventions), but the sales of anime have been declining. At the same time, traffic downloading anime on torrents has been increasing and with the proliferation of video streaming sites, anime streaming has become more common. Though causality cannot be mathematically proven, I believe it’s not a stretch to say that fansubbing has been eroding the R1 market. (If you have other explanations please provide them)
@Owen S – 2
Ironically enough, FUNimation is saying the first statement; some fans are interpreting it as the second.
The fact is that FUNimation simply does not have the power to satisfy all parties involved, so they simply do what all buisnesses do and behave in a manner they believe will maximize their profit. If this comes across as heartless know that I can think of no company that has come up with a better method.
By the way, if you are criticizing the language of FUNimation’s comments, then you are doing so without any real basis. From what I’ve read, FUNimation has been professional in their statements. If the company officially and publicly indulges in undue vitriol, I would have to say that the company is run by idiots.
@jpmeyer – 2
I’ll be blunt; grow thicker skin. I do not recall FUNimation ever taking such a flagrant stance on the issue. They have made their case professionally and by warping their choice of words, you are effectively changing their intent. If you are taking quotes from the fandom, know that there are fans who like to debase others to increase their self esteem. Do not project this bullying attitude towards FUNimation without grounds. Yes, the company has stated that unauthorized distribution will be met with legal action, and yes, it has stated that fansubbing is damaging the NA market, but it is not the intent of FUNimation to have these comments used as pitchforks and knives against those who watch fansubs.
There’s a hidden question involved with my 100% example: if this were happening, would they recognize that amount of people watching the streams is actually their entire audience even though there’s still a massive amount of downloading going on? I wish that I had been paying attention to those little IP flags in uTorrent say, 5 years ago (ignoring the fact that it wasn’t around then) so I’d be able compare the difference between now and then because that is the comparison I wish I could make.
As for the anti-downloader stance, I’ll clarify. Over the last few years (coinciding with the drops in DVD sales), I have noticed a marked difference in perception regarding fansubs from every angle of anime fandom (fans, companies, intermediaries like news sites and blogs, cons, etc.), rather than something solely from Funimation. In fact, I honestly can’t seem to figure out where I started seeing it first. It was definitely after Geneon went under, maybe around the time when the ADV/Sojitz partnership broke up.
@jpmeyer
Actually, the trend of fansubs and the market can be seen by the recent anime fan mindset.
This is more or less hearsay from anime fans of the mid 90’s, there has always been a code among fansubbers and fansub viewers alike that you only watch fansubs for anime that cannot be seen otherwise. It’s a code I personally try following. But when it comes to the generation of anime fans I’m part of, they couldn’t give a damn as long as it’s free/more convenient. They really have no right to complain, and even more so, considering that FUNimation, among other outlets, are, on a consistent schedule, STREAMING THE EPISODES FOR FREE.
It’s definitely not about scapegoating.
Though as to not sound completely anti-fansubbing. Geneon tanked due to overpriced merchandise, and ADV got to top heavy.
Hi Sorrow-kun!
I believe that Funimation’s actions are long overdue. and I’m of the opinion that they need to get MUCH TOUGHER! and start SUING these people> An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth! Funimation should follow the actions of Universal music and the RIAA in suing individuals. the only way to save the industry is for the copyright holders and licensors to get TOUGH on these fansubbers and ILLEGAL downloaders! they should band together and partner with governments to crack down on ALL this ILLEGAL activity. The industry is dying! Cartoon Network has canceled Toonami. Adult Swim Anime is quickly headed towards hibernation with few to no new series and too many old series. I believe that in the US Funi should sue all illegal fansubbers and downloaders top dollar and if need be throw the book at them forthwith! This will show them that this kind of behavior will not be acceptable! we need to support the industry, the dub companies and Buy the DVDS!
Let’s Get Responsible,People!
The future of the anime industry is at stake!
Gregory Herbert
Chairman and General President
The Coalition For Responsible Anime Fandom
(CRAF)
(I’m not sure why this is addressed to me, I didn’t write this article).
@craftruth2009
I’m all for the idea of “supporting the industry”, but the all-guns blazing punitive response just has so many undesirable consequences that licensing companies like Funi would be foolish to follow it. And they know this, hence why there hasn’t been a PR disaster like Odex in the NA market. This is a marketing problem, not a legal one (at least it should be seen as such by companies, unless they want to alienate their own demographic). The challenge that companies face is to change perceptions and convince people that their products are competitive with the illegal alternative. It’s a battle for “hearts and minds”, if we want to use rhetoric from the Bush administration.
I beg to differ but it’s all up to Funi/Naverre in the end if they really want to save the industry here in the states they need to take action.
BTW
Sorrow-kun
I recognised your name from some other forums you contribute to intellligently and just decided to say hello, that’s all
i started watching anime on my home TV and moved online a few years ago to get a larger selction and the added benefit of watching when i want to however with these lawsuits or w/e it is all i notice is i cant watch my favorite shows and when i go to the Funimation site its disorganzied lacking a comprehensive anime list so common on many other apparently illegal sites so i now find myself sitting here writting this because i cant watch my show now seems to me Funimation could lay off the other more comprehensive sites till they are up to par