Back in October, rumors started to float around that Sony Pictures would soon be scooping up Crunchyroll. The popular streaming service has a massive worldwide audience, especially when you consider that Sony already has Funimation under its umbrella. Adding Crunchyroll’s more than 90 million users to the team makes a ton of sense. Today, they’ve made the news official.
Exciting news to share today! https://t.co/pY3c43MWRX
— Funimation (@FUNimation) December 9, 2020
The purchase price comes in at a staggering $1.175 billion, which is slightly higher than the original number we saw in October. That said, they’re bringing in a massive audience. Even if some of those users frequent both Funimation and Crunchyroll, this was always going to require a major investment.
The big upshot of all this is that anime fans worldwide should end up with better access to the content they love. Both catalogs are already sizeable. This will only make the package that much more attractive for the end-user.
Plus, it’s worth noting that this further gives Sony the resources to turn their own properties into shows and movies. Obviously, it’s too early to say exactly what we should expect; however, it’s easy to see more first-party properties getting adaptations over the next few years.
Additionally, this partnership could lead to Sony’s studios working on some new games in various hit anime series. Again, I wouldn’t consider this a “done deal”; however, the opportunities will be there. It’s just up to Sony and their teams to take the ball and run with it.
While things tease out, the good news is that both services will operate business as usual. So, for all you anime fans out there, don’t expect much to change in the short-term while everything is being finalized.
The post Sony Pictures’s Funimation Group Set to Buy Crunchyroll for $1.175 Billion by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.