Report: AT&T Confirms Sale Of Crunchyroll To Sony’s Funimation for $1.17 Billion
AT&T has announced that they will be selling the Crunchyroll anime streaming service to the Sony owned Funimation Global Group, LLC for a total of $1.175 Billion USD.
Related: Sony Enters Final Negotiations to Buy Crunchyroll for Upwards of $957 Million
This final sale price considerably surpasses the original offer of $957 Million that was rumored to have been proposed by Sony when the company entered final negotiations to buy Crunchyroll back in October.
As of the sale’s confirmation, Crunchyroll boasted “3 million SVOD subscribers and growing,” serving “90 million registered users across more than 200 countries and territories offering AVOD, mobile games, manga, events merchandise and distribution.”
“The combination of Crunchyroll and Funimation provides the opportunity to broaden distribution for their content partners and expand fan-centric offerings for consumers,” read AT&T’s press release regarding the sale.
Tony Gonvalves, WarnerMedia’s Chief Revenue Officer, praised how “the Crunchyroll team has done an extraordinary job of not only growing the Crunchyroll brand but also building a passionate community of anime fans,” and noted that “Crunchyroll’s success is a direct result of the company’s culture and commitment to their fans.”
“By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people,” he added. “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.”
Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra stated the company was “proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony Family,” and explained that 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,” asserted Vinciquerra to both audiences and investors. “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.”
“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,” said Joanne Waage, general manager of Crunchyroll. “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.”
What do you make of this news? What impact do you think it will have on Western anime streaming? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!
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