Crunchyroll and Roku Announce Content Partnership
Market-leading English-language Japanese anime and Asian media streaming service now available on market-leading streaming entertainment devices
December 10, 2010
San Francisco, Calif. – Crunchyroll, Inc., announced today the growth of its industry-leading Japanese anime and Asian media platform through a partnership with Roku, Inc. Crunchyroll for Roku joins other hit content channels on Roku like Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand and Crackle as Roku's first channel dedicated to Japanese anime and Asian media. Crunchyroll will bring thousands of hours of premium Asian content directly to living rooms with the partnership. More information is available at http://www.Crunchyroll.com.
Crunchyroll CEO Kun Gao said: “This partnership with Roku reflects our empirical observations that more and more consumers, especially those of Japanese anime and Asian media, want to watch their streaming content in the living room. Crunchyroll for Roku brings to the living room not just ease of use, but an entirely new and fresh Crunchyroll experience. This key step in our evolution to an increasing number of devices outside of the PC is essential to our expansion and the sustainable growth of Japanese and other Asian content in the rest of the world.”
Crunchyroll for Roku works on all Roku streaming media devices, and works just like Crunchyroll does on the PC or other devices like iPad. Nearly all of Crunchyroll's video library, including hit shows like Naruto Shippūden and Bleach, is available in standard definition, free with advertisements for instant streaming without any sign-up or log-in. Access to high definition and premium streams, like exclusive one-week early access to Naruto Shippūden, Bleach and many others, is available to Crunchyroll's premium users. More information is available at http://www.Crunchyroll.com/freetrial.
Roku Vice President of Business Development, Jim Funk said: “Japanese anime is one of the most popular forms of audiovisual entertainment in the world today amongst the under 18 and 18-35 demographics, and we are excited to be able to now offer an affordable, easy and compelling way for anime fans around the world to stream the latest content directly to their television sets. Crunchyroll gives us the largest library, largest geographical footprint and all-around best anime content out there today, so we are extremely excited to launch this channel.”
The Roku HD streaming player ($59.99) delivers video in high-definition and features
built-in wireless and Ethernet for easy broadband connectivity anywhere in the home.
The new Roku XD ($79.99) and XDS ($99.99) models add 1080p HD support (delivered
over HDMI) and extended-range Wireless-N. In addition, the XDS model features dualband Wireless-N technology and USB playback
About Crunchyroll, Inc.
Crunchyroll is a leading global video network and developer of social media applications for Japanese anime and Asian media. Through applications like Crunchyroll for iPad and Naruto Shippūden Official, set top boxes like Roku, affiliate websites and its own site, Crunchyroll delivers officially-licensed content from leading Asian media producers directly to consumers.
Crunchyroll has offices in San Francisco, Calif. and Tokyo, Japan, and is a member of the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) and Licensing International Merchandisers' Association (LIMA). Founded in 2006, Crunchyroll is funded by leading venture capital firm, Venrock, Japanese entertainment giant TV TOKYO, digital publishing leader Bitway and a group of angel investors representing some of the brightest and most successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. More information can be found at http://www.Crunchyroll.com.
For more information on the company and its products, visit: http://www.roku.com.
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