Sony Buys Crunchyroll to Dominate Anime Streaming

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has reason to celebrate today, as it has successfully acquired the popular anime streaming platform, Crunchyroll. Now we can look forward to even more anime on our PS4 and PS5s.

Sony Seals Crunchyroll Deal

Sony Picture’s Entertainment has confirmed, via a SonyPictures.com press release, its Funimation group has successfully taken on Crunchyroll—the popular anime streaming platform previously owned by AT&T.

The deal had previously been subject to regulatory approval, but now that approval has finally been made, SPE is now the rightful owner of Crunchyroll.

SPE heads are understandably buoyant about the new venture. Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President, and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, says:

We are very excited to welcome Crunchyroll to the Sony Group. Anime is a rapidly growing medium that enthralls and inspires emotion among audiences around the globe. The alignment of Crunchyroll and Funimation will enable us to get even closer to the creators and fans who are the heart of the anime community. We look forward to delivering even more outstanding entertainment that fills the world with emotion through anime.

Sony has confirmed that Funimation completed the deal at a value of $1.175 billion.

With Funimation already available via Sony’s PlayStation consoles (among other devices), Sony fans can soon enjoy an even wider variety of awesome anime series and movies.

What Happens to Crunchyroll Now?

Well, Sony has been pretty vocal about its intentions with Crunchyroll and Funimation. Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc, says:

Crunchyroll adds tremendous value to Sony’s existing anime businesses, including Funimation and our terrific partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan… Our goal is to create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible.

So, Sony plans to bring Funimation and Crunchyroll together into a unified platform. Whether this means one subscription covering both platforms is not entirely clear at this point in time. For now, you’ll have to choose between the two (or subscribe to both).

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What Is Crunchyroll?

Crunchyroll is a subscription-based platform offering a wide range of anime series and feature-length anime. It his home to popular anime such as One Piece, Dragon Ball Super, and Naruto Shippuden.

You can subscribe to Crunchyroll easily, and you even get to try it for free. Just head to the Crunchyroll.com plans page and you can select how you’d like to subscribe from there. There are several tiers available, from monthly subscriptions to annual plans.