Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, Zee5 & SonyLiv Form Global Streaming Alliance

• Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, and 15 other streaming services, including Zee5 and SonyLiv, form Beyond Mainstream.
• The global collaborative effort aims to advocate for fair regulation and industry representation.
• Amid the new development, Crunchyroll and HIDIVE are adding new anime to their catalogs.

Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, and 15 other anime streaming services have jointly launched Beyond Mainstream: A Global Streaming Alliance.

The objective of the coalition is to promote fairer regulation and a more powerful collective voice in industry policy discussions. Additionally, it aims to guarantee that "specialized and regional platforms – and the diverse audiences they serve – are not overlooked."

The 15 other Beyond Mainstream’s founding members include services like AMC Networks’ Acorn TV, ALLBLK, HIDIVE, Shudder, and Sundance Now, NDM+, OUTtv, Pure Flix, Rakuten Viki, The Roku Channel, SonyLiv, Sony One, Tubi, and Zee5. 

Nijel de Mesa, president and CEO of NDM+, highlighted that the creation of Beyond Mainstream as a platform for collaboration and long-term sustainability is crucial amid the evolution of digital governance systems. The alliance has a distinctly global policy outlook because of the geographic and genre diversity of its members.

The inclusion of Zee5 and SonyLiv further emphasizes a deliberate effort to increase the international prominence of non-Western, regional, Indian content. This move comes as global viewership of Indian content increases by 25%, thereby enhancing the country’s stake in cross-border content collaborations and global strategy review.

Crunchyroll Confirms Bigger Slate

Crunchyroll’s recent surge in the anime streaming sector has undoubtedly positioned the company to be a global power in this niche sector. The company is increasingly acquiring licenses and expanding its content catalog, along with investing in other anime-related efforts. 

Crunchyroll recently also unveiled a full slate of new anime acquisitions at CCXP Brazil 2025, including Tamon’s B-Side (premiering December 31, 2025), Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None (January 2026), as well as Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Season 4 (April 2026), Kujima: Why Sing, When You Can Warble? (April 2026), Bungo Stray Dogs WAN! 2 (2026), and The Drops of God (2026). 

HIDIVE Brings New Anime Ahead of Anime Frontier Event

HIDIVE also revealed its January 2026 lineup, which features Chained Soldier Season 2, HELL MODE: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing, and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling. This comes ahead of Anime Frontier (December 13–15), which is a J-Pop convention that is held in Texas, USA. Additionally, the service announced that certain simulcasts would have free dub screenings at the convention, along with a special guest appearance of Yukana, the voice of Chained Soldier‘s Fubuki Azuma.