Funimation tucks into Crunchyroll

Noblesse is a South Korean anime series that premiered on Crunchyroll in October.

Sony-owned Funimation is to acquire its anime streaming rival Crunchyroll from US telco AT&T, owner of WarnerMedia, for just over US$1bn.

Tony Vinciquerra

Crunchyroll – which has rights to recent hits like Noblesse – has more than three million SVoD subscribers, while its ad-supported version has 90 million registered users around the world.

The transaction, understood to be at around US$1.175bn, is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. It comes as reports emerge in the US that AT&T is also looking for a buyer for its troubled satellite TV business DirecTV.

According to the Financial Times, AT&T has received at least three offers that value DirecTV at more than US$15bn, far less than what the WarnerMedia parent company paid for it five years ago.

Funimation is a joint-venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan-based Sony Music Entertainment’s subsidiary Aniplex.

By combining with Crunchyroll, it becomes an even bigger player on the global anime scene and will be able to significantly grow its catalogue of over 700 anime series and over 13,000 hours of content available on 15 platforms in 49 countries.

Tony Goncalves, chief revenue officer at WarnerMedia, said: “By combining with Funimation, Crunchyroll will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people.”

Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said: “We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family. 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. 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.”