In the never ending attempt to cut down cable costs I found a nice, and free, app called Boxee. It essentially aggregates all the video feeds (Netflix, Hulu, friends’ personal feeds) I’d typically watch in my browser and provide a platform to nicely display them on my TV.

A while back we broke news of Crunchyroll beginning to stream English subtitled anime shortly after airing in Japan. Now with an ever expanding lineup, Crunchyroll will be partnering with Boxee providing their feeds in the software. If you really like it, you can signup ($5/month) for the premium capability which will give you access to streams up to 720p with no advertisements. Try the 2 week trial.

Through Crunchyroll you are also able to access all the live action drama. I’ll also add you can save your favorite channels. So if one is, say in the mood for yaoi, you can get your fill with HD quality streams.

[Crunchyroll via Mashable]

*Little know fact, Boxee is the offspring of the XBMC project.

Currently seen as the top North American anime distributor, Funimation Entertainment has begun an aggressive effort to establish an online presence. Recent content sharing agreements include Toei Animation, Japanese producer GDH, Viz Media and Studio Bones, all inked within the last month. The most telling development is the recent distribution deal with internet TV service Veoh Networks.

Funimation is facing an uphill battle as their primary competitor Crunchyroll is already in a position to stream legitimately licensed anime directly from Japan. Backed by several notable Japanese television conglomerates and supported through advertisements, Crunchyroll provides its subscribers access to many Japanese series within one hour of their original broadcast and offers HD options with no advertisements through a fee-base premium subscription.

Many anime distributors are seeking ways transform their business to compete in an online market. Hoping to leverage their brands and changing how they understand their audience, Funimation is at the top of these “traditional” companies. With an already robust online community, this would be the natural progression for the Funimation brand and its internet audience.

Should companies rely less on traditional “boxed” anime and instead focus their attention to online distribution? Does online distribution allow more studios to take a chance when producing anime? And most importantly to the studio…how will they make up for lost sales when diverting its assets online?

[Funimation]
[Crunchyroll]