Sony has just confirmed that the company is buying anime streaming service Crunchyroll from AT&T for $1.175. Crunchyroll will become part of Sony’s Funimation.
This will be a cash transactions and is subject to regulatory approvals. AT&T hopes to complete the deal as soon as possible but didn’t confirm the timeframe for this. Crunchyroll has about 550 employees from which 250 are based in the US and about 300 in Europe.
Crunchyroll boasts 70 million free members and 3 million paid subscribers. This will surely put Sony in a better position in the anime industry. The company can now compete with Netflix and Hulu which also offer anime titles.
Also see: Free Anime websites
“Together with Crunchyroll, we will create the best possible experience for fans and greater opportunity for creators, producers and publishers in Japan and elsewhere,” Tony Vinciquerra, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Sony has been into anime production for decades. It established Aniplex in Japan back in 1995 for managing anime and music productions. Aniplex began its own animation studio, A-1 Pictures in 2005. Aniplex studio’s Demon Slayer anime series recently saw massive success in Japan.
Sony and AT&T were in talks for months about the deal. AT&T purchased Crunchyroll back in 2018 for more than $1 billion. Crunchyroll was founded back in 2006.
