Sony’s Funimation buys Crunchyroll for over $1 billion

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Isaac Todd
December 10, 2020
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Negotiations for the sale of Crunchyroll have finished, with Sony‘s Funimation picking up the anime streaming service for a cool $1.175 billion.

Reports of Sony’s bid to buy Crunchyroll appeared back in August, with Sony eventually gaining exclusive bidding rights later down the line.

This gives Sony a rather large monopoly over anime streaming in many parts of the world, especially the US.

General manager of Crunchyroll Joanne Waage stated that ‘Combining the strength of the Crunchyroll brand and the expertise of [their] global team with Funimation is an exciting prospect and a win for the incredible art form of anime.’

Perhaps the funniest part of this sale is the fact that Crunchyroll and Funimation were already working together at one point, before splitting off in 2018. This combination might see the return of certain shows to the platform, though any potential changes likely wont be shared until next year.

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