Steaming numbers don't seem to count towards dubs

AN Online
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I notice that I go on anime network most popular titles, and that I see that viewership doesn’t necessarily determine whatever an anime will get dubbed or not. Even Popular titles like My teen Romantic Comedy Snafu, To Love Ru, and even seasons 2-4 of The Familiar Of Zero, despite high viewership, doesn’t seem to pursway the company to go back and dub those titles. Like I think it seem to be luck or random draw that determines if a particular anime gets a dub or not.

The decision making process for dub decisions seem to be corporate secrets, with the public having no involvement in the decision making process. The company only does what it wants.

I hope to see more dubs in 2017-2018 moving forward. I also feel it be nice if you follow Funimation’s lead and consider dubbing any on screen insert songs when possible using the same process (Funimation even showed how the Songs for Show By Rock were dubbed). I really think it be nice if there was a company that could be a true rival of Funimation who also mass licenses anime, dubs a majority of titles, dubs insert songs sung on screen when possible, and maybe even produces broadcast dubs as well. I would especially like to see more west coast dubs from California as well.

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I don’t think TAN physically dubs anything themselves. It’s all licensed.

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Streaming numbers are just one of the metrics they use. As far as Familiar of Zero goes, the first season flopped for Geneon and Funimation, and it doesn’t seem to have sold well for Sentai either. Just a few weeks after season one’s bluray release, some sites were selling it for $20. Not to mention, there are many shows with high streaming, or torrent numbers, that don’t do well for physical release and have little appeal for TV networks like Adult Swim. A classic example is Azumnga Daioh which ADV paid a ton for back in the day due to high online/pirated viewership. The show sold well, but not nearly as well as expected, and probably didn’t warrant the money spent on it.

You also have to remember that it’s not just TAN viewership that they look at. They also look at streaming numbers on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Amazon. Shows that are popular on TAN aren’t always as popular on other formats, and vice versa.

Other factors also help determine whether a show gets dubbed or not. The overall cost of a license can factor into it. A really expensive license cost can actually hurt the chances of getting a dub, because it raises the production costs and increase the number of sales needed to make a profit on the title. Longer titles are also more expensive to dub obviously, as To Love Ru has become. Combine that with the fact that sales generally drop with each subsequent release, dubbing them become a risky proposition.

Feedback on social media and email also plays into their decision. Sentai has cancelled plans for sub-only releases and produced dubs for titles when there has been enough requests in the past, and the feedback on current titles helps with their decision making process presently.

As for older titles, Sentai has been going back and dubbing them less few frequently. Many of the early ones they later released bilingual were only done so after additional distributors from the U.K. And Australia chipped in with the costs.

As far as California dubs, it’s not very likely unless it’s the continuing release of a very successful show already dubbed there, like Persona or Fate/Stay. Texas dubs are non-unionized, less expensive, and Sentai has more direct control over them. It’s expensive to run a dubbing studio, and it doesn’t make sense to let the equipment sit idle and pay another studio.

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