According to a new Bloomberg article, Funimation's successful home video sales and recent success with distributing Your Name. in North American theaters has led to both Comast and Sony Pictures weighing whether to pursue acquiring the anime licensing company. The report from Bloomberg further states that Comcast's Universal Pictures, which already partners with Funimation to distribute its products, have cooled talks on pursuing Funimation but Sony is still very much interested. Could a rival's pursuit lead to Universal/Comcast jumping back into the fray?
Both film studios are on the hunt for fresh tentpole franchises and with much of the superhero IPs locked up at Marvel and Warner Bros., the search has turned to anime. In commenting on their potential corporate acquisition, Funimation issued this vague corporate statement.
"The Funimation management team is more immediately focused on continuing to create compelling experiences for anime fans through physical, digital/streaming and theatrical efforts with goals of continuing to expand globally and maximizing shareholder value."
Further adding feul to the fire is that Funimation's current Chief Operating Officer is a former Universal Pictures executive. The belief is that Funimation's existing distribution licenses and long-established relationship with key Japanese anime studios would serve as a backdoor to producing live-action anime adaptations/remakes.