It finally happened after nearly a year post-proposal, and that is Sony’s Funimation acquiring Crunchyroll for $1.2 billion. Not only will this be bringing two of the largest anime streaming services together under Sony Pictures Entertainment, but fans will hopefully get to potentially experience anime under one major application.
This deal was originally just proposed in December of 2020, in hopes to broaden distribution under one potential service. Now that AT&T sealed the deal, and there are many possibilities that can happen. According to Tony Vinciquerra, chairmen and CEO of Sony Pictures, it is still their goal to create a unified service right away. For now, though subscribers will still have access to the two separate apps, and there are no known details of how the two will merge.
Crunchyroll reported a total of more than 5 million paying subscribers worldwide across 200 countries making this a massive gain for Sony. Funimation has not reported their numbers at this time.
This could end up being a huge bonus for subscribers on both ends. I know many users find themselves jumping back and forth between both platforms, and this will allow users to potentially save money and time. The convenience for the merge too could also potentially be a boost in performance. Crunchyroll tends to have many streaming issues and always tends to be under maintenance. I for one am excited to see what the future for anime subscriptions holds.
Veteran gamer, tech nerd, comic addict, anime lover, and just your average introverted weeb.
