It is no secret that the world thrives on mobile media consumption. The mere existence of unlimited data allocations on several mobile plans is proof that the world today consumes a significant part of its video and audio through mobile devices. Indeed, it seems like the days when one boots up a laptop to watch an episode of a show online have passed.
For anime fans in North America, this poses a bit of a challenge. Despite anime's widespread popularity, there are actually very few dedicated anime streaming apps that work well. Among those that work well, an even smaller number have a decent lineup to watch. This, unfortunately, is a problem for both iOS and Android users.
That is, of course, until today. One of North America's most prominent anime distributors, Funimation Entertainment, has announced that its official mobile streaming app, FunimationNow, is now online. The service is offered on numerous platforms, including iOS, Android, Kindle and even Windows 10 devices.
FunimationNow has a pretty interesting business model that is akin to Netflix's offerings. Featuring a tiered subscription model, even users who opt for the free subscription would have some access to some of the company's massive library of anime titles.
Of course, for paying customers, the deal is even better. While free users would have to deal with ads, premium users would enjoy a smooth, hassle-free anime streaming experience, with the $5 a month subscription giving customers full access to the company's titles. For the $5 a month tier, all the anime would be in subtitled format.
Users who would like to opt for the highest tier, the $8 a month service, would enjoy an ad-free experience. Though the selection of titles is unlimited, just like the $5 a month tier, the $8 a month subscription allows users to access both subtitled and dubbed versions of a title. Apart from this, some exclusive bonus content is also set to be included.
In an interview, Funimation Chief Operating Officer Michael DuBoise stated the company's reasons for the conception of the service.
"The primary impetus was our fans and the kind of experience that we thought our fans deserve to have. For us, we know our fans don't just watch anime. They live anime. And so really being able to make this more experiential and giving them more control of their experience was a driving force for us," he said.
FunimationNow is now (pun intended) available in the iOS, Android, Kindle and Windows app stores.
