Anime Network's 24/7 Linear Service Discontinued

[Roy Mustang]

Reported by ANN.

The Anime Network, A.D. Vision's television and streaming service, has officially announced that it discontinued its 24/7 linear service. The service had actually been discontinued at the beginning of the year. Anime Network still supports its Video-on-Demand (VOD) service for digital cable providers, Sprint Mobile streaming for mobile phones, and Online Player for personal computers. It officially launched its Online Player broadband service in December after a one-month test run.

Propeller TV, a channel on the United Kingdom's Sky Digital satellite service, has also discontinued its daily two-hour Anime Network programming block at the beginning of the year. Although Propeller TV's website still mentions anime, its schedule no longer carries regular anime programming, and its link to
The Anime Network UK site now redirects to Anime Network's main American site. Propeller TV had first carried the block during a 13-week Sunday run last May, before expanding the block to daily runs in September.

Anime Network's 24/7 linear service began service on June 30, 2004 on the Insight Communications Cable service provider in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. The network's VOD service was officially announced and launched two years earlier in 2002. The 24/7 linear service later spread to other regional service providers, but the major service providers eventually decided to carry the VOD service only. A.D. Vision head Matt Greenfield had emphasized as early as 2005 that the VOD service was "the future" of Anime Network. According to Greenfield, the linear service was mainly provided because some service providers had indicated that they would more likely adopt the VOD service if there was a 24/7 linear service to complement it.

Anime Network's cancellation of its 24/7 linear service leaves FUNimation Channel as the only 24/7 linear service in North America, although only Verizon's FIOS TV service and New York City's terrestrial WRNN-DT3 broadcaster actually carry Funimation's programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of FUNimation Channel's other providers only carry the anime programming in two-hour blocks. Sony's Animax linear channel has been carrying anime programming 24/7 in many parts of Europe and Asia, including in its home territory of Japan.

Great, now everyone will be watching Anime Network online service now, which will mean more slow load times or not loading at all.

[color="Red"]
[font="Book Antiqua"]Col. Roy Mustang[/font][/color]

[EricTheFred]

This really doesn't make a lot of difference, and isn't much of a surprise. AN's 24/7 feed was going to a very small chunk of the overall market, since most of the big providers never picked it up (For example, TWC and Comcast both have carried at least part of the VOD for several years, but in most of their territory have never carried the 24/7 programming.)

I get Funimation on my fiber-optic service, but it's a pretty skeletal programming schedule. I do hope that ANIMAX decides to come to the US eventually.

[Roy Mustang]

This really doesn't make a lot of difference, and isn't much of a surprise. AN's 24/7 feed was going to a very small chunk of the overall market, since most of the big providers never picked it up (For example, TWC and Comcast both have carried at least part of the VOD for several years, but in most of their territory have never carried the 24/7 programming.)

Yeah, what you said is one reason why I'm not surprise at all about this. They would do alot better with the VOD and online viewing then have the 24/7 feed.

I think ADV wants to cut some costs and the 24/7 feed and NewType USA are the ones to be cut.

In the long run, it will be better on them.

[color="Red"][font="Book Antiqua"]
Col. Roy Mustang[/font][/color]