HIDIVE Offers Its Full Anime Catalog Free This Week

HIDIVE, the anime focused streaming service from AMC Networks, is opening its doors for a free sampling week to win over new viewers. From October 22 to 26, people who are not subscribers can watch the service’s entire anime catalog at no cost.

The offer is tied to Comcast’s Free This Week program, which gives Xfinity customers complimentary access to HIDIVE. It also lines up with HIDIVE’s expansion onto more platforms, including X1, the Xumo Stream Box, Xumo TV, and Xfinity Flex.

HIDIVE first launched in 2017 and offers more than 500 hours of subbed and English dubbed anime. Its catalog includes exclusives such as I Parry Everything, Jellyfish Can’t Sing in the Night, From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated, and Sword of the Demon Hunter.

As one of the few US based services devoted almost entirely to anime, HIDIVE’s biggest rival is Crunchyroll. Comcast and its partners say they are committed to continued investment in anime and to smart distribution that brings HIDIVE to a wider audience.

Amy Leasca, Vice President of Partner Management Strategy at AMC Networks, noted how popular anime has become and credited HIDIVE’s steady delivery of strong titles for making it one of the company’s fastest growing services.

My take: A free week is a friendly, low pressure way to try a service, and more competition in anime streaming is good for fans. It is worth a look while the catalog is open.