Hands up if anyone here knows what HIDIVE is. Anyone? No? Well, if you’re part of the group that kept their hands down, then don’t worry. You’re definitely not alone. The streaming service is virtually unknown here in the US despite it being headquartered in Houston, Texas. It tries to compete with Crunchyroll for anime streaming dominance, but the results are a bit…lackluster. All they seem to be is an exclusive delivery vehicle for Sentai Filmworks anime, and that’s it. It’s such a tiny niche that it’s not hard to see why no one know what they are. Their near-complete and utter lack of marketing and advertising doesn’t really help there.
Interestingly though, they seem to be keen on doing something about that. HIDIVE has just announced that they are expanding into Amazon Prime Video and cable TV at the same time. How so, you might ask? Well, for Amazon Prime Video, they are now available as a monthly ad-free add-on subscription on top of the usual Amazon Prime subscription. However, at the moment, they are only available in the United States ($5.99 USD), United Kingdom ($4.99 GBP), Canada ($8.99 CAD), Australia ($8.99 AUD), and New Zealand ($8.99 NZD). If you live outside of these countries, then you will have to wait for HIDIVE to get back to you on that.
As for the cable TV, HIDIVE will be expanding into them via their consumer app. That app is now available to Samsung, LG, and VIZIO subscribers, who will have full access to HIDIVE’s anime library. At least, once they have both the app and the paid subscription needed to access that library.
HIDIVE Adding Amazon Prime Video Add-Ons and CTV Apps
Honestly, this seems to change very little about HIDIVE. The Amazon Prime Video add-on feels like something that’s just going to make your Prime Video subscription even more expensive for little benefit. Meanwhile, the app is just another way to access the streaming service. If you happen to subscribe to any of the above cable TV providers, then good for you. Otherwise, this doesn’t really seem to change all that much.
What do you all think? Do you want a HIDIVE subscription now? Is this enough for you to pay money to watch Sentai Filmworks anime? Share your thoughts with us below in the comments section.
