The Crunchyroll streaming service has become one of the fastest-growing platforms for fans to get their fix of new and classic content from Japan. Over the years, the service has grown from only streaming to even creating original content, hosting conventions, and developing video games! For its tenure, Crunchyroll has been under the umbrella of AT&T, but recent reports suggest that it's time for them to grow even more in the entertainment market.
According to multiple business sources and Crunchyroll themselves, the brand will be separating from AT&T, following them being bought by the entertainment and tech giant, Sony. While most companies being bought by another may come across as bad or intimidating, this is actually the best and most logical thing for Crunchyroll to have done!
Combining with Sony means that Crunchyroll will be in the same house as another anime giant, Funimation, and with the two working together, we as fans will be able to get some of the best content both in quality AND quantity! According to Crunchyroll general manager Joanne Waage, "We are excited to embark on this new journey. Crunchyroll has built a world-class brand with a passionate fan-base of over 3M subscribers, 50M social followers, and 90M registered users. These amazing fans have helped to propel anime into a global phenomenon: combining the strength of the Crunchyroll brand and the expertise of our global team with Funimation is an exciting prospect and a win for the incredible art form of anime.”
The future appears to be looking very bright for Crunchyroll, and it will be fascinating to see how this purchase will pay off in the coming years. We would love to hear your thoughts on the news in the comments below!
As of now, there are no huge changes announced for Crunchyroll during this transition.