 Logo used since launch. | |
| Type of business | Division |
|---|---|
Type of site | OTT streaming platform |
| Predecessor | Anime Network Online |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Area served | North America, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Oceania |
| Owner | AMC Networks |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Products | |
| Services |
|
| Parent | Hidive, LLC |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required |
| Users | 300,000 (2020)[1] |
| Launched | June 20, 2017; 8 years ago (2017-06-20)[2] |
| Current status | Active |
Hidive (stylized inall caps) is an Americansubscription video on-demandover-the-topstreaming service owned byAMC Networks. The service primarily offersJapanese anime content to paid subscribers.
The service was launched in June 2017 after the dissolution ofThe Anime Network's online service, which survived after the liquidation of the formerA.D. Vision's assets in 2009.
Hidive and its parent Sentai Filmworks were both acquired by AMC Networks at the beginning of January 2022 and restricted access to English language markets in December 2023. The streaming service offers a number of features, among those includelive chat, customizable viewing features, customized profiles and subtitles, and parental controls among other things.
Before the launch of HIDIVE, anime shows that were licensed by Sentai Filmworks were often streamed onAnime Network Online, which once served as the streaming service for the now defunctAnime Network.
The Hidive streaming service launched in June 2017, as Hidive, LLC, a new company not affiliated with Anime Network, was formed in 2017 and shortly after, acquiredAnime Network Online's assets and spun them off into the new streaming service following Anime Network Online's discontinuation.[3][2] Former subscriptions from Anime Network Online were later moved to Hidive.[4]
It exclusively streams select licensed titles from Sentai and Section23, as well as a handful that was formerly held by A.D. Vision, including a small number of titles that were previously exclusive to the defunct streaming channelAnime Strike.[5][6]
On July 21, 2017, Hidive announced the service would start to offer selected anime titles with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles and began offering "Dubcasts" later in March 2018.[7][8] Similar to SimulDubs, it competes againstFUNimation'sSimulDub program.[9] This allows Hidive to stream dubs of simulcast titles approximately two to three weeks after the initial Japanese broadcast.
On October 18, 2018,VRV announced that Hidive would be launching its channel on its service, which replaced FUNimation Now, which left the service on November 9, 2018.[10]
Sony announced its acquisition of VRV's parent companyCrunchyroll from AT&T on August 9, 2021, via its FUNimation subsidiary. In response, Hidive left the service on September 30, a month after the acquisition.[11]
Hidive was part of AMC Networks' acquisition of Sentai in January 2022.[12]
In November 2023, the service announced that it will end service in certain areas outside North America, which went into effect later in December.[13]
In March 2024, Hidive's website was updated with a new user interface.[14] New features were also added, such as offline viewing, updated history queues, and the ability to create multiple customized watchlists.[15][16] It later brought back the schedule and customized profiles features in August,[17] both of which were features that were previously available prior to the major update of the site.
At launch, Hidive featured much of the same content as Anime Network Online, which in-itself featured notable titles licensed byA.D. Vision and its successor,Sentai Filmworks.
In September 2022, Hidive would briefly expand into original programing when it co-premiered theAMC+ original seriesPantheon.[18][19]
| Type | FAST television channel |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 1080pHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480p for older programming) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | AMC Networks |
| Parent | Sentai Filmworks |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | March 10, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-03-10) |
| Replaced | Anime Network |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| The Roku Channel | Channel 367 |
| Plex | None |
| Pluto TV | None |
In April 2022, AMC announced the development of a Hidive-brandedFree ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel called "ANIME x HIDIVE", which would feature content licensed by Sentai and seen on the Hidive streaming service.[20] The channel would launch onPlex on March 10, 2023.[21]
