Video streaming service
VRV (officially pronounced "verve", though it is also referred to by its letters) was an Americanover-the-top streaming service launched in November 2016 byAT&T andthe Chernin Group . The service bundled together anime, speculative fiction, educational, and gaming-related channels aimed at fans of such content.[ 1]
Some of VRV's content could be streamed for free, while other content required a subscription. The subscriptions to its channels were available for purchase individually, or in a premium bundle. VRV was available only in theUnited States , despite some of its partnered content being available for viewing worldwide outside the platform.
In April 2023, it was announced VRV would merge withCrunchyroll , which was completed later that month.[ 2] [ 3]
Ellation, owners ofCrunchyroll , formally announced the launch of VRV on June 14, 2016. Its initial partners includedRooster Teeth ,Seeso ,Nerdist ,Geek & Sundry , andFrederator 'sCartoon Hangover .[ 4] Funimation ,Adam Savage 'sTested ,RiffTrax ,CollegeHumor ,Machinima ,Ginx TV ,Shudder , andMondo Media were announced as new partners.[ 5] [ 6]
On August 9, 2017, the VRV Select channel was launched, featuring content from other sources. It was also announced that Machinima, Ginx, and Rifftrax were being dropped from the service.[ 7] Facebook page that it would be shutting down by the end of 2017.[ 8] The Cyanide & Happiness Show HarmonQuest Hidden America with Jonah Ray My Brother, My Brother and Me [ 9]
On November 21, 2017,CuriosityStream andMubi joined VRV.[ 10]
On December 12, 2017,DramaFever joined VRV.[ 11]
On May 3, 2018, it was announced that Tested was being dropped, with its content moving to VRV Select.[ 12]
On August 28, 2018, VRV launchedNickSplat , named after theTeenNick programming block, featuring classicNickelodeon series from the 1990s and early 2000s.[ 13]
On October 12, 2018,Shout! Factory 's content, such asMystery Science Theater 3000 ReBoot [ 14]
On October 18, 2018, Funimation announced that they would be leaving VRV, as their partnership with Crunchyroll ended, and all of their titles would disappear on November 9, 2018. On that same day, VRV announced thatHidive would be joining the service to replace Funimation.[ 15]
On November 1, 2018, Hidive was launched on VRV and it was announced thatBoomerang would be joining the service on November 13, 2018.[ 16]
On November 7, 2018, season 1 ofTBS 'sFinal Space [ 17] Otter Media announcedMike Tyson Mysteries Jabberjaw [ 18] [ 19]
On August 9, 2021, Crunchyroll was acquired bySony -owned Funimation, making Sony the new owner of VRV.[ 20] [ 21]
On September 8, 2021, Hidive announced that it would be leaving VRV on September 30, 2021.[ 22] [ 23] [ 24]
On March 1, 2022, it was announced that VRV would be merged into Crunchyroll itself, alongside Funimation andWakanim .[ 25] [ 2] [ 3]
Boomerang –Cartoons fromWarner Bros. (left December 1, 2020)Cartoon Hangover —Web-originalcartoons fromFrederator Studios (left December 13, 2021)Crunchyroll —Anime and simulcasts (left April 29, 2023)CuriosityStream —Non-fiction documentaries relating to science, technology, nature, and world history (left November 19, 2019)DramaFever —Korean dramas (shut down on October 16, 2018, subsequently left VRV days after)Funimation —Japanese anime dubbed into English (left November 9, 2018)Geek & Sundry —Geek culture and lifestyle programming (left April 1, 2019)Ginx TV —Esports -related contentHidive —Dubbed and subtitled anime (left September 30, 2021)Machinima —gaming-related content (some content was still available via VRV Select)Mondo Media —Adult animation (left May 8, 2023)Mubi —Curates classic andarthouse films (left October 2018)Nerdist —Fandom-related news, podcasts, and comedy programming (left April 1, 2019)NickRewind —Television series from Nickelodeon that aired in the 1990s and early 2000s (left August 29, 2020)RiffTrax —MST3K -style movie commentaries (some content was still available via VRV Select)Rooster Teeth —Web animation and gaming-related content (left December 13, 2021)Seeso —original and licensed comedy programming (shut down on November 8, 2017, some original programming were migrated to VRV Select)Shudder —Horror films (left August 1, 2019)Tested (left May 3, 2018, some content was still available via VRV Select)VRV Select—A curated selection of movies and shows for premium subscribers (left April 29, 2023) Original programming [ edit ] Title Genre Premiere Seasons/episodes Status Shadowstone Park [ a] Animation December 15, 2017 1 season, 3 episodes Ended Slug Riot Animation January 5, 2018 1 season, 5 episodes Ended (not) Hero [ a] Animated comedy /Adventure February 9, 2018 1 season, 3 episodes Ended Paradigms: How We Know What We Know Science documentary March 2, 2018 1 season, 1 episodes Ended Chris P. Duck Animated comedy /Slice of life 1 season, 6 episodes Ended Gary and His Demons [ b] Adult animation /Comedy April 15, 2018 1 season, 16 episodes Moved toPrime Video (internationally) andFreevee (United States)[ 26] Daddy and the Big Boy [ b] Adult animation /Comedy October 16, 2018 1 season, 13 episodes Ended Allen's Pole Adult animation /adventure 1 season, 4 episodes Ended Brogan: Master of Castles [ b] Adult animation /Comedy March 26, 2019 1 season, 6 episodes Ended Live From WZRD Talk show March 31, 2019 1 season, 8 episodes Ended Bigfoot [ b] Adult animation /Comedy September 29, 2019 1 season, 8 episodes Ended Epithet Erased [ c] Animated comedy /adventure November 8, 2019 1 season, 7 episodes Ended
Title Genre Previous network Premiere Seasons/episodes Status HarmonQuest Adult animation /Live improvisation Seeso September 15, 2017 2 seasons, 20 episodes Ended Deep Space 69 (season 4)Adult animation /Comedy YouTube December 22, 2017 1 season, 8 episodes Ended Bravest Warriors Animated comedy /Science fiction YouTube December 25, 2017 2 seasons, 58 episodes Ended Turbo Fantasy (season 2)Adult animation /Comedy YouTube August 27, 2018 1 season, 3 episodes Ended The Cyanide & Happiness Show Adult animation /Comedy Seeso September 18, 2019 1 season, 10 episodes Ended
^a b Was available through Cartoon Hangover Select. ^a b c d Was available through Mondo's VRV channel. ^ Episodes were uploaded to YouTube two weeks after they premiered on VRV. ^ Orsini, Lauren (January 19, 2017)."Streaming App VRV Wants To Be Netflix For Geeks" .Forbes Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedAugust 28, 2018 . ^a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 4, 2023)."VRV Streaming Service Bundle Merges with Crunchyroll" .Anime News Network .Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedApril 5, 2023 . ^a b "MAKE THIS GOODBYE MORE OF A SEE YOU SOON" .VRV . Archived fromthe original on April 30, 2023. RetrievedJuly 5, 2023 .^ Baumgartner, Jeff (June 14, 2016)."Ellation's 'VRV' Platform Sets Sights on SVOD Surge" .Multichannel News . Archived fromthe original on August 29, 2018. RetrievedAugust 29, 2018 . ^ "Ellation Announces Eight New Channel Partners for VRV, a Video Platform Built for Fans" .Marketwired . September 29, 2016. Archived fromthe original on April 4, 2017. RetrievedAugust 29, 2018 .^ Romano, Aja (November 17, 2016)."New streaming app VRV aims to unite the best of the geek internet under one roof" .Vox .Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedAugust 29, 2018 . ^ Baumgartner, Jeff (August 9, 2017)."VRV Tunes In New Curated OTT Channel" .Multichannel News . Archived fromthe original on August 29, 2018. RetrievedAugust 29, 2018 . ^ Ha, Anthony (August 9, 2017)."NBCUniversal is shutting down Seeso, its streaming service for comedy fans" .TechCrunch .Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedMay 25, 2023 . ^ Petski, Denise (August 9, 2017)."Seeso Makes It Official: Will Shut Down "Later This Year" .Deadline Hollywood .Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedJuly 6, 2023 . ^ Trumbore, Dave (November 21, 2017)."VRV to Add MUBI and CuriosityStream, Along with Offline Viewing" .Collider Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedAugust 29, 2018 . ^ Baumgartner, Jeff (December 12, 2017)."VRV Adds DramaFever to SVOD Lineup" .Multichannel News . Archived fromthe original on August 29, 2018. RetrievedAugust 29, 2018 . ^ Yasushi, Matt (May 4, 2018)."Tested Changes on VRV" .VRV . Archived fromthe original on September 1, 2018. RetrievedAugust 29, 2018 . ^ "Nickelodeon and VRV Launch NickSplat SVOD Channel" .Animation World Network . August 28, 2018.Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedAugust 29, 2018 .^ VRV [@WatchVRV] (October 12, 2018)."A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS AT @ShoutFactory FOR ALL THIS AND MORE!" (Tweet ). RetrievedOctober 12, 2018 – viaTwitter . ^ Ressler, Karen (October 18, 2018)."Funimation, Crunchyroll End Content-Sharing Partnership (Update)" .Anime News Network .Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. RetrievedOctober 18, 2018 . ^ Bouma, Luke (November 1, 2018)."VRV Adds Classic Cartoons Thanks to a Partnership With Boomerang" .Cord Cutters News .Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedNovember 1, 2018 . ^ Trumbore, Dave (November 7, 2018)." .Collider .Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedNovember 7, 2018 . ^ Milligan, Mercedes (November 7, 2018)."VRV Adds 'Final Space,' 'Mike Tyson Mysteries,' 'Jabberjaw' from WarnerMedia" .Animation Magazine Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedNovember 14, 2018 . ^ "Conan O'Brien's 'Final Space' Finds Exclusive SVOD Home on VRV" .Animation World Network Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedNovember 14, 2018 .^ Mateo, Alex (August 9, 2021)."Sony's Funimation Global Group Completes Acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T" .Anime News Network Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. RetrievedAugust 9, 2021 . ^ Mateo, Alex (August 13, 2021)."Crunchyroll Confirms VRV as Part of Sony Following Acquisition" .Anime News Network Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. RetrievedAugust 13, 2021 . ^ "WHAT DOES HIDIVE'S VRV EXIT MEAN FOR YOU? START WITH OUR FAQ" .HIDIVE . September 8, 2021.Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. RetrievedSeptember 8, 2021 .^ Nick N. (December 13, 2021)."What is happening to Rooster Teeth" .VRV . Archived fromthe original on January 2, 2022. RetrievedJuly 5, 2023 . ^ Nick N. (December 13, 2021)."What is happening to Cartoon Hangover?" .VRV . Archived fromthe original on January 2, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 1, 2022 . ^ "Funimation Content Moving to Crunchyroll for World's Largest Anime Library" .Crunchyroll Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. RetrievedMarch 1, 2022 .^ Layton, Mark (April 13, 2022)."Amazon expands Canadian originals, with 'Gary And His Demons' revival & Tragically Hip docuseries" .Television Business International . RetrievedApril 15, 2022 .
Key personnel Motion Television
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