CBS buys ADV, FUNimation and Geneon...

godgundam10

White and Nerdy
Apr 14, 2007
255
183
NEW YORK- Today, on April 1, 2008, CBS Corporation President and CEO Leslie Moonves announced that CBS would be buying three major American anime distributors and releasing several popular titles at a lower cost to the consumer. The three anime studios, ADV Films based in Houston, FUNimation based in Fort Worth, Texas and Geneon Entertainment of Long Beach, California paying a total of $600 million for all three studios. The three studios will now combine into one line known as "CBS Anime", with an anime-style version of the world famous CBS eye logo. "Anime is one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment in the world and has a growing number of fans", says Moonves while meeting ADV President Matt Greenfield at CBS's 38-story headquarters at 51 West 52nd Street in New York City, "We are confident that CBS Anime will become the premiere anime distributor in North America. I have watched several of the popular titles available, and I am impressed. Today, April 1, 2008, will be a red-letter day in anime history." ADV's president Matt Greenfield, who was celebrating in a hot tub of champange which he purchased along with a Porsche 911 studded with rubies, stated that he was happy that anime would now be more affordable. "Instead of demanding $30 for one DVD with 4 episodes, we can now sell whole 26-episode series for $40, saving our consumers lots of money. Anime is about the fans, not the money. People make companies, companies don't make people. I can say that with confidence now. I'm set for life!" Greenfield then went back to swimming in the champagne, which a Japanese geisha girl was now adding capers for him to eat. ADV Films, which was launched in 1992 in Houston was the first major anime distributor in the United States. The first title released was the six-episode OVA "Devil Hunter Yohko". Other titles from ADV include "All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku", "Full Metal Panic!", Martian Successor Nadesico" and the controversial, but popular series from Gainax, "Neon Genesis Evangelion". FUNimation' popular titles include "Crayon Shin-Chan", "Azumanga Daioh", "Mahou Sensei Negima!", "Yu Yu Hakusho" and Akira Toriyama's long-running and popular "Dragonball" series and it's spinoffs. Geneon Animation started as "Pioneer Entertainment" as a branch of the Japanese-based Pioneer electronics company. Geneon closed it's operations in 2007, leaving the future of several of it's titles that were under development at it's closure unknown until CBS's purchase today, April 1, 2008.