Sony Effectively merging the two animation streaming services, declaring that Crunchy Roll Subscribers will have access to the library and simulcast content previously available exclusively on Funimation Starting from 1 March.
The move brings more than 1,600 hours of over 50 newly added titles in Funimation’s lineup to Crunchyroll, while Sony said it won’t raise prices on Crunchyroll bundles (for now). The company said that the future new series will be exclusive to Crunchyroll starting April 1, and Funimation will only continue adding new episodes of the current series.
Sony’s global funimation group Buy Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion in cash from AT&T, a deal struck in August 2021 – bringing together two former rivals. Under Sony’s ownership, the anime division is now renamed Crunchyroll LLC, which operates as a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
Sony said integrating Funimation’s content into Crunchyroll would create “a huge benefit for new and existing subscribers who will no longer have to pay for two services.” Crunchyroll’s pricing for ad-free subscription plans remains unchanged at $7.99 per month for the fan tier; $9.99 per month for Mega Fan; and $14.99 per month for the Ultimate Fan.
As of March 1, Crunchyroll offers over 40,000 sub and dubbing episodes. Crunchyroll is available on more than 15 platforms, including all game consoles.
“When we brought Funimation and Crunchyroll together last year, our top priority was to put fans first,” Crunchyroll CEO Colin Decker said in a statement. “Unifying all of our brands and services globally under the Crunchyroll brand allows us to deliver more value than ever before as we bundle subscriptions, diplomas, simulcasts, library, music, movies, and manga — all in one subscription.”
In addition to merging the two streaming services, Sony-owned Funimation Global Group LLC will now operate as Crunchyroll LLC and has begun rebranding across its global presence.
Founded in 2006, Crunchyroll became part of WarnerMedia after AT&T Purchased majority stake in Chernin Group in Otter Media in 2018. In 2017, Sony Pictures Television acquired a controlling stake in Funimation, which was founded in 1994.
Pictured above: The final season of the anime series “Attack on Titan”
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