We have information that Crunchyroll will remove the “ advertising support” , that is, access to watch anime with advertising. According to information from the platform, the option will no longer be available from the spring 2022 season (April – June).
Announcement about the removal of the option to watch free episodes
With the Spring 2022 season and future seasonal releases, Crunchyroll will update our offering of simulcast titles across subscription tiers. You will need a monthly or annual premium subscription to be able to watch the new and continuing simulcasts. With the exception of the titles mentioned below, we will no longer offer the option to watch simulcasts a week later and with advertising. As for ongoing series, the ad-supported viewing option will no longer be available for new episodes , such as the spring season, although previously released episodes will still be available to all users .
To introduce our new seasonal simulcasts, we will be offering the first episodes of a selection of titles as “season previews” as well as free viewing for a limited time starting in the Spring 2022 season.
Users will be able to stream the first three episodes of these titles for free with advertising:
- SPY x FAMILY
- A Couple of Cuckoos
- Dawn of the Witch
- Tomodachi Game
- Skeleton Knight in Another World
- Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san
- The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody
- Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs
The first three episodes of these titles will be free with ad support one week after their premiere for subscribed users and until May 31st. After this date, all seasonal preview episodes will require a subscription. In short, we want to encourage as many fans as possible to explore new series and discover all the benefits of premium access.
So Crunchyroll offers hundreds of hours of content to view for free through our ad-based access tier.
Finally, these were the words used by Crunchyroll in the statement.
Also, what do you think of this idea, would it make any difference?
Via: Official Website