 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | North America |
| Headquarters | West Palm Beach, Florida |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English Spanish (viaSAP audio track) |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Olympusat |
| History | |
| Launched | December 31, 2015; 9 years ago (December 31, 2015) |
| Replaced | Funimation Channel |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
Toku (stylized in allcapital letters) is an Americanpay television channel andstreaming service owned by Olympusat and dedicated to broadcastinganime and East Asian programming.[1]
It was launched on December 31, 2015, replacingFunimation Channel, afterFunimation ended their partnership with Olympusat. Tristan Leostar is the content aggregator for the channel.
Funimation Channel started out as a syndicated block on Colours TV, one of OlympuSAT's affiliate networks.[2] Programs during this era wereDragon Ball,Negima!,Kodocha,The Slayers,Blue Gender,Kiddy Grade,Fruits Basket,Case Closed andYuYu Hakusho. The block was later discontinued in favor of a more successful expansion on subscription television.
The Funimation Channel launched on September 29, 2005, as a joint venture betweenFunimation and Olympusat, it became the second 24-hour anime digital cable network in North America (the first beingA.D. Vision'sAnime Network).[3][4] Olympusat was the exclusive distributor of the channel.[4]
On May 1, 2008, Funimation Channel became a 24-hour English-dubbed anime subscription network; the second of its kind in North America (followingA.D. Vision'sAnime Network).[5] Olympusat was chosen as the exclusive distributor of Funimation Channel.[6] The service originally was available to a few cities viadigital terrestrial television and was temporary-only as the channel was trying to gain a foothold in the already-crowded pay television landscape.
In May 2009, Funimation Channel continued its expansion on subscription providers launching onComcast's VOD platform[7] and offering two services - Free on demand and PPV on demand. The PPV VOD offers viewers a chance to watch titles prior to their DVD release.[8]
As of September 27, 2010, Funimation launched an HD feed alongside existing VOD services.[9] On February 16, 2012,Verizon announced that it will drop Funimation Channel from itsVerizon FiOS service "on, or after March 15" due to "very low viewership".[10] In response to reaction from its customers, Verizon returned Funimation Channel via VOD.[11] Channel 262 remains on theFiOS system operated by Frontier Communications in some ex-Verizon territories.[12]Cablevision's Optimum TV recently launched[13] FUNimation Channel On Demand in the NY/NJ/CT Tri-State area. Adding this MSO increased FUNimation Channel's footprint to over 40 million households nationwide.
Funimation Channel's programming came fromFunimation,Aniplex of America,Viz Media,Sentai Filmworks,Right Stuf Inc.,NIS America, and the now-defunctCentral Park Media andEnoki Films USA.
On December 8, 2015, it was reported that the channel would change its name toToku on December 31, 2015, and would start broadcasting live-action, grindhouse and independent East Asian movies.[14][15] It was subsequently announced, on December 15, 2015, that Funimation would end its partnership with Olympusat, and announced plans to relaunch Funimation Channel in 2016.[16]
On March 14, 2016, Olympusat announced a localized version of Toku in Latin America, namedToku Español.[17] However, as of 2022, the channel is yet to be launched in the region.
On July 25, 2016, it was announced that Toku was going to be launched in the FlixFling streaming service by early 2017, but to date, that never happened.[18] On June 8, 2017, it was announced that Toku is available onAmazon Channels as a streaming service for members ofAmazon Prime, offering channel content on demand for US$4.00 per month, after a 7-day free trial.[19][20]
On August 23, 2017,Consolidated Communications added Toku on its channel line-up.[21]
On May 22, 2018, Toku launches a beta version of its new streaming service WatchTOKU.com for the United States and Canada, which includes channel content and future releases, as well as embedded forums. The service, powered by Vimeo, costs either US$4.00 per month or US$40.00 per year. This is Toku's official debut outside the United States, being available for the first time in Canada.[22]
Toku's programming comes fromMedia Blasters,Discotek Media,Tsuburaya Productions, MonoFilm Sales and other anime and movie licensors.
The linear channel is available onAT&T U-verse,[23][24]Claro Puerto Rico, Hotwire Communications,Consolidated Communications, Sjobergs Inc., IFiber Communications and OptiLink; its HD feed has been available since the network's launch in 2015.[25] The linear channel was previously available onVerizon FiOS.
The VOD service is available onOptimum,[26]Xfinity,Vubiquity,Frontier FiOS and Armstrong.[27] The VOD service was previously available onCharter Communications and Massilion.[28]
The channel is available in streaming through its WatchToku.com streaming service, as well as itsAmazon Prime channel. It was formerly available onGo90.