Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced that the company is acquiring Crunchyroll, an anime streaming service from AT&T and WarnerMedia. Crunchyroll will be a part of Sony’s Funimation. The company has also revealed that the transaction is worth $1.175 billion.
With this acquisition, Funimation will be adding 70 million free members and 3 million paid members of Crunchyroll to its platform. Sony now has significant power over anime content in the United States. Not just this, it also leads to the growth of the company’s influence over Japan’s anime industry.
Commenting about this development, Joanne Waage, General Manager of Crunchyroll, said in a statement: “We are excited to embark on this new journey. Crunchyroll has built a world-class brand with a passionate fan-base… These amazing fans have helped to propel anime into a global phenomenon. Combining the strength of the Crunchyroll brand and the expertise of our global team with Funimation is an exciting prospect and a win for the incredible art form of anime.”
Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra said “Through Funimation and our terrific partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan, we have a deep understanding of this global artform and are well-positioned to deliver outstanding content to audiences around the world. Together with Crunchyroll, we will create the best possible experience for fans and greater opportunity for creators, producers, and publishers in Japan and elsewhere.”
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For those who are unaware, AT&T has purchased Crunchyroll in 2018 as a part of Otter Media from Chernin Group for a sum of around $1 billion. However, the company is now focusing on building up HBO Max.
Sony has been strengthening its position in the anime industry for quite some time now. In 2015, it acquired anime streaming service Wakanim and in 2018, the company bought anime distributor Madman Anime as well as its streaming platform AnimeLab. After acquiring Funimation, it merged all the streaming services under a joint venture between Sony Pictures Television and its production studio Aniplex under the Funimation brand.
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