- Sony is buying AT&T’s animation subsidiary Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion in cash. These are the details.
Sony is buying AT&T’s animation subsidiary Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion in cash. This acquisition is part of Sony’s plan to ramp up its entertainment business. Currently, Crunchyroll has 90 million registered users and 3 million paying subscribers across more than 200 countries and regions.
Sony’s Funimation Global Group — which is a U.S. animation distributor with 1 million paying subscribers — will run Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll is currently part of AT&T’s WarnerMedia segment. Sony had acquired Funimation in 2017 for about $143 million.
By divesting from CrunchyRoll, AT&T will be investing in other forms of content for WarnerMedia. It is believed that AT&T was aiming for broader audiences. And under the leadership of CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony has been focused on increasing its recurring revenue streams in order to balance out volatile hardware sales.
“We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family,” said Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra. “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.”
And WarnerMedia Chief Revenue Officer Tony Goncalves said that he is proud of the Crunchyroll team and what they were able to accomplish in the digital media space in a short period of time.
