In a market that’s already shrinking a fair bit with fewer players than years ago and more shifting into distribution partnerships than full-on licensing, a new wrinkle has hit Australia. The Australian Financial Review has revealed that Sony subsidiary Aniplex (not Aniplex USA) has acquired the anime division of Madman Media for $35 million AUD. Madman had previously been a minority investor in the company has taken over completely for this division now.
At the moment, there is no word on what will be happening with the company and its various ventures as there are a lot of festivals and theatrical showings there in addition to streaming through AnimeLab and home video releases. The initial idea of panicking over pricing as seen in the US is pretty nonsensical. Madman and other distributors have been bringing out Aniplex shows are lower pricing than the US division because those markets are different and those prices are not sustainable there.
Now, how they handle the various projects and agreements that exist as they go forward and as contracts end without potential for renewal, there’s a chance for a further shrinkage there. But, realistically, that’s not going to happen. With Sony having acquired Funimation previously and Madman having an existing distribution agreement for Funimation titles, it’s not like those titles will no longer be distributed through them. All of them are now under the Sony banner.
Regardless, it’s a further consolidation that on some level should be worrying as we wait to see what the real impact will be.
[Source: ANN]
