In a surprising twist within the entertainment industry, piracy site HiAnime has surpassed Disney+ in global monthly views, including in the United States, Disney's home country. According to data collected by Similarweb and reported by Torrent Freak, HiAnime accumulated 364 million visits in October 2024, surpassing Disney+'s 343 million in the same period. Although HiAnime traffic fell in November to 331.6 million, this number still exceeds Disney+'s 328.2 million for that month.
Within the “Streaming & Online TV” category in the United States, HiAnime ranked sixth, while Disney+ ranked eighth. In addition, HiAnime tripled the traffic of Crunchyroll, the largest streaming service dedicated exclusively to anime, which recorded 125.1 million views in the same period.
HiAnime has seen a significant increase in its traffic in recent months. Between June and August, its monthly average was 209.5 million visits, but this number jumped to 302 million in October. This growth coincides with the closure of major piracy sites such as Aniwave, which had reached 170 million visits in August before suddenly disappearing, and the recent inactivity of Anitaku (formerly GogoAnime).
These circumstances have made HiAnime the main destination for consumers of pirated anime content, which could further increase its traffic in the coming months. HiAnime's growth occurs amid an alarming context for the anime industry. According to the Japanese anti-piracy coalition CODA, the estimated economic damage caused by pirated content from Japan reached between 12.4 and 14 billion dollars in 2024, almost six times more than in 2019.
Legal companies have stepped up their efforts to combat piracy. This includes lawsuits against sites like Anitaku, DMCA requests, and pressure through criminal watch lists. Google also revealed that licensees such as Crunchyroll, Funimation, and VIZ Media are among the top issuers of copyright takedown requests.
Fountain: TorrentFreak
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