Manga Entertainment

Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the United States, and Australia. Originally founded in the UK in 1991, the UK branch became Crunchyroll UK and Ireland, also currently known as Crunchyroll Ltd. since 2022, while its U.S. branch was absorbed into Starz Inc. (now owned by Lionsgate).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Despite its name, the company's principal business was the distribution of anime rather than manga, although they published some manga (such as Crying Freeman) under the Manga Books imprint.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

File:Manga Entertainment's Manga Video imprint, circa 1991.jpg

Manga Entertainment's original logo and initial imprint

Manga Entertainment (formerly Island World Communications) was founded in London in 1991 by Chris Blackwell and Andy Frain,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with Laurence Guinness in a key role,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as a subsidiary of Island Records' Island World Group.<ref name="ann" /> IWC took over the company number for Golden Square Music, but had no relationship to IWC or Manga.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ann">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Manga Entertainment expanded into North America in 1993 with the purchase of L.A. Hero, forming Manga U.S. while Manga UK entered the Australian market in late 1993 and began releasing titles in January 1994 in conjunction with the Australian division of Island's parent company, PolyGram (through PolyGram Video) and local independent distributor Siren Entertainment.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On May 13, 2004, IDT Entertainment, a division of IDT Corporation announced they would purchase Manga U.S., becoming a subsidiary of IDT Entertainment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2005, Manga UK and Manga U.S. began to operate independently from each other, but still remain under the same ownership.<ref name="ann" /> Liberty Media would then purchase IDT Entertainment in 2006, which would be renamed Starz Media.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011, Manga U.S. ceased licensing new products after the release of Redline and was absorbed into Starz Media. On August 8, 2012, Liberty Media announced that it would spin-off Starz Media into a separate publicly traded company.<ref>"New York Deadline" Liberty Media Says It Will Spin Off Starz Template:Webarchive deadline.com, Retrieved on August 8, 2012</ref> The spin-off of Starz Inc. was completed on January 15, 2013, which included all subsidiaries.<ref>"Yahoo Finance" Liberty Media Spins-off Starz Template:Webarchive finance.yahoo.com Zacks Equity Research, Retrieved on January 24, 2013</ref>

2015–present

On February 26, 2015, the UK branch was acquired from Starz Media, alongside its parent Anchor Bay UK, by managing director Colin Lomax.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Anchor Bay UK was renamed to Platform Entertainment and went on to have exclusive rights to the Manga Entertainment branding and catalog in the UK and Ireland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 2016, Lionsgate announced they would acquire Starz Inc.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Acquisition2">Template:Cite web</ref> which would eventually be completed in December 2016, placing Manga U.S. under Lionsgate Home Entertainment. In the same month, Kaleidoscope Film Distribution announced they had purchased Platform Entertainment and confirmed that they would split Manga UK off to become separately operated. After Platform Entertainment stopped distributing Manga titles, they went on to having their titles released in the UK by Spirit Entertainment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2017, Lionsgate Home Entertainment relaunched Manga U.S.' website and its Facebook and Twitter pages, and confirmed a relaunch in the near future. Lionsgate currently licenses the Manga Entertainment brand-name from Crunchyroll.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the following year, the CEO Colin Lomax had died, between Christmas 2017 and New Years Day 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of September 2023, the relaunch did not happen as of yet, with some of Manga's titles like Ghost in the Shell being rereleased under the main Lionsgate banner.

See also

• Manga Force: The Ultimate Collection

External links

• Template:Anime News Network