Verizon FIOS axing the Funimation channel from their lineup

I just received a notification from Verizon stating they will be removing the channel from the lineup on March 15th.

I have Verizon FIOS TV, and I find it ridiculous that a paid service is removing a channel that I actually watch because of “poor viewership,” just read what Verizon sent via email:

Dear Customer,

On, or after, March 15 2012, Funimation (channel 262) and Bridges TV (channel 278) will be removed from the FiOS TV® lineup and you will no longer be able to view this content.

This programming has been discontinued due to very low viewership and the continued effort of Verizon to offer our customers the most popular channels while keeping our rates reasonable.

Since when is Verizon known for “reasonable rates”? For what I pay I could be getting one of the special packages from other providers, like Dish Network.

If low viewership makes them remove a channel, why haven’t they removed G4 from their lineup? After all, it’s just a bunch of reruns of Cops, Cheaters, Ninja Warrior, and 80s movies, just like SpikeTV, but Spike is tolerable. There’s a bunch of BS channels, and a ton of PBS channels as well, why haven’t these been removed? I don’t know what kind of deal they had to have the channel on their lineup, but their excuse to why they’re removing it is ridiculous.

The current Funimation channel show-lineup is way better than it was a couple of years ago, and if it wasn’t for that channel I would have never learned about Buzo Renkin and other anime shows. Sure, the way they air the shows is a little bit weird, and it’s hard to know when they’re gonna air a new episode or a repeat, but at least it beats having to pirate the shows online.

I know a lot of people don’t like dubs, but some shows are actually easier to understand when you don’t have to read subtitles for 5 characters speaking at high speed…

I checked Funimation.tv to see if they had any announcement about this, but I think this might be a surprise notice for they as well, they still have pictures with the FIOS channel number.

Anyway, I’m really disappointed in Verizon’s decision to remove the channel. If the problem is the commercials that they run on that channel, well, it’s their fault for showing only “as seen on TV” kind of ads. I noticed they’re Verizon’s doing because I’ve seen them even on channels like Cartoon Network, and sometimes you can see a commercial starting and then they’re cut off to display those weird commercials.

Sadly, I made the mistake of accepting their Triple Play, so now I’m in a 24-month contract, and I don’t even have any of the good channels like HBO, MAX, Encore, etc…

Right now the Funimation channel is the only channel to show anime without heavy censorship, like what you would get on mainstream channels like Nick and Cartoon Network, so it really annoys me that the only way to get some of those shows is through Netflix.

I hope Verizon reconsiders their decision, otherwise I will have nothing much to watch during the day…