Crunchyroll President explains why Funimation users can’t keep digital copies

The Crunchyroll and Funimation merger enraged many fans whose digital copies purchased through Funimation Digital will no longer be supported. Here’s what Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini has to say about it.

Earlier this month, Crunchyroll made a shocking announcement regarding the acquisition of the popular streaming website Funimation. The merger did bring many classic anime and fan favorites to the Crunchyroll platform, but one important feature of Funimation’s stream offerings will not be carried

The anime industry didn’t take the news well when it was confirmed that the digital copies of content from DVDs or Blu-rays would be no longer effective. Regardless of the controversy, the acquisition is still taking effect.

Funimation will discontinue its streaming service on April 2, 2024, with all support transitioning to the Crunchyroll platform. Those with Funimation accounts will be allowed to access Crunchyroll for the remainder of their subscription.

Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini promises to make up for the loss to Funimation users

The Verge had a recent interview with Present Rahul Purini. When asked about the digital copies being no longer available, Purini shares: “As we announced the sunset of Funimation, the users that had bought those physical home videos will not be able to have access to the digital copies on the Crunchyroll service.

“I will say these are customers that we value a lot, and we are working really hard directly with each one of them to ensure that they have an appropriate value for what they got in the digital copy initially.”

When asked about the appropriate value for what they got in the digital copies, he says: “It could be that they get access to a digital copy on any of the existing other services where they might be able to access it. It could be a discount access to our subscription service so they can get access to the same shows through our subscription service. So we are trying to make it right based on each user’s preference.”

The interviewer again confirms with Rahul Purini, asking if Crunchyroll will give people digital copies of other services to make up for their loss; his response is, “If that is what they prefer.”

Thanks to the interview, Funimation users can get more insight into the matter after the unsatisfactory official announcement. While the compensation may not satisfy all Funimation users, Crunchyroll President’s latest interview at least confirms that they’re trying to make up for everything.