#AMC Networks Has Acquired Sentai

AMC Networks has announced its acquisition of Sentai Holdings, LLC , the anime distributor that owns the HIDIVE streaming platform. The acquisition also includes Sentai’s member interests from the Cool Japan Fund.

“With strong industry relationships and access to key content creators in Japan, Sentai distributes and curates one of the anime industry’s most diverse libraries of top trending and classic titles, with its content available on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Amazon Prime, among others,” said AMC’s press release. AMC also called HIDIVE a “strong new addition” to its lineup of streaming services, which include AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, and ALLBLK. 

AMC says that it forecasts over 20-25 million paid subscribers by 2025 from its combined selection of streaming services. It previously predicted over nine million paid subscribers by the end of 2021, but did not mention if it had met this forecast.

HIDIVE’s anime catalog includes a mix of recent and older titles that range from Girlish Number and Akame ga Kill! to , Canaan and the Patlabor movies. Meanwhile, its recent and current simulcast titles include Fall 2021’s HIDIVE-exclusive Yuki Yuna Is A Hero: Great Mankai Chapter and Winter 2022’s Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3 and Saiyuki RELOAD: ZEROIN, although its simulcast selection is smaller than those of Crunchyroll and Funimation.

“With a seasoned team, strong content and direct-to-consumer offerings for fans around the world, Sentai is a key global player in anime,” said AMC Networks Interim CEO Matt Blank. “This acquisition builds on AMC Networks’ already strong IP and franchises, and furthers our targeted streaming strategy of super-serving passionate audiences with content depth, curation and community. With the addition of Sentai, we see an even greater opportunity to build on AMC Networks’ position as the global leader in targeted streaming, as we continue to grow a sustainable and long-term profitable streaming business that will be transformational for our company.”

Meanwhile, Sentai founder John Ledford said that the company was “thrilled by AMC Networks’ acquisition and are excited to be a part of their growth strategy.”

“This acquisition will not change Sentai’s mission to deliver the most exciting anime content to audiences around the world — it will expand it greatly and will give our content businesses more distribution, more partnerships, more scale and more reach,” he added. “I could not be more pleased.”

Sources: Variety, press release