As originally reported by Reuters, Sony will buy animation company Crunchyroll from AT&T for $1.175 billion. The two companies confirmed this news late on Wednesday evening.
This means Crunchyroll will now be absorbed into its anime company rival Funimation, a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Aniplex. U.S. animation distributor Funimation Global Group already has 1 million paying subscribers at the time of reporting. This deal will give Sony/Funimation access to Crunchyroll’s 3 million paying subscribers, which spans across 200 countries and regions.
“The Crunchyroll team has done an extraordinary job of not only growing the Crunchyroll brand but also building a passionate community of anime fans. Crunchyroll’s success is a direct result of the company’s culture and commitment to their fans,” said Tony Goncalves, WarnerMedia’s CRO, in a statement. “By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people. I’m incredibly proud of the Crunchyroll team and what they have been able to accomplish in the digital media space in such a short period of time. They’ve created an end-to-end global ecosystem for this incredible art form.”
“We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family,” Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, added. “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. Funimation has been doing this for over 25 years and we look forward to continuing to leverage the power of creativity and technology to succeed in this rapidly growing segment of entertainment.”
Hulu already has a long-standing deal with Funimation; meanwhile, Crunchyroll is currently part of HBO Max’s content library. There’s no word as yet on when or if said content will be incorporated into the Hulu deal.
