PSA: Crunchyroll changing ad supported membership.

[ShenmueTree]

Crunchyroll will be nixing its free ad supported membership where you can watch all shows for free with ads, and new episodes one week later with ads. They will now allow you to watch 3 episodes for free, of select titles.

Basically, if you've been planning to binge Shenmue on CR after all episodes have aired, by watching via the free ad supported tier, you will no longer be able to watch all of it. As I understand it, you can watch what aired before Spring but for anything after beyond the free 3 episodes of select titles you must now sub to premium membership.


Relevant information from crunchyroll below.

For the Spring 2022 season and future seasonal releases, Crunchyroll will update our offering on simulcast titles by subscription tier. To view new and continuing simulcasts, a premium monthly or annual subscription will be required. With the exception below, we will no longer be offering simulcast episodes one week after release as an ad-supported, free viewing option. For continuing series, ad-supported viewing on any new episodes will not be available in line with the Spring season, however, previously published episodes are still available to all user types.



To introduce our new seasonal simulcasts, we will be offering initial episodes of select titles as part of a “seasonal sampler” for free viewing for a limited time. For the Spring 2022 season, users can watch the first three episodes of these simulcast titles for free with ads:

• Spy x Family
• A Couple of Cuckoos
• Dawn of the Witch
• Tomodachi Game
• Skeleton Knight in Another World
• Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie
• 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 Spring titles will be available for free, ad-supported viewing one week after their subscription-only premiere until 5/31. After this date, all episodes within our seasonal sampler preview will require subscription.



We want to encourage as many fans as possible to explore new shows and see the full benefits of Crunchyroll premium access. Crunchyroll makes more than 1,000 hours available for viewers to sample free of charge through our ad-supported tier, and will continue to offer free content going forward.



To try out our premium membership and to enjoy full access to simulcasts and catalog content, you can sign up for our 14-Day Free Trial at any time. Besides all major credit card options, a subscription can be started through Crunchyroll gift cards, Apple iTunes, and Google Play. In addition, local pre-pay options are available in some regions."

Then again, maybe shenmue won't be affected? Does it count as a Simulcast since it airs both on TV and CR at around the same time or does that only mean shows airing on TV in Japan at the same time? We'll see.

 

[Kazlab208]

Just to clarify, this is for shows that start airing in the Spring 2022 season and beyond. So Shenmue and every other anime that had a start air date before April 2022 will not be affected by this.

If Shenmue does get a second season though is when you will have to go through a paywall in order to see future episodes.