Sony Acquires Crunchyroll For $1 Billion
by Emily Nagle
Sony has acquired anime streaming network Crunchyroll from AT&T in a deal worth $1.175 billion. While the deal was initially created in December 2020, the deal was not approved until Monday.
The streamer was purchased by Funimation, Sony’s anime distribution and dubbing company. Now that the two companies are merged, what can anime lovers expect? According to Tony Vinciquerra, the chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures, the corporation will use this merger to enhance the anime viewing experience by providing more for customers and also expanding distribution. He announced in a press release on the Sony Pictures website, “With the addition of Crunchyroll, we have an unprecedented opportunity to serve anime fans like never before and deliver the anime experience across any platform they choose, from theatrical, events, home entertainment, games, streaming, linear TV — everywhere and every way fans want to experience their anime. Our goal is to create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible.”
It’s not yet clear what the merger will mean for the streaming companies – Funimation and Crunchyroll are still separate platforms. However, there are talks of Crunchyroll being a perk of a more expensive Playstation Plus plan.
As for AT&T? With the money it earned from the deal, it’ll now be able to pay off the debt it has accrued while building its streaming empire. The company is also in the process of another merger as it passes WarnerMedia onto Discovery, which will be finalized by mid-2022. After extinguishing all of its debt, it plans to return to strictly being a connectivity business.
