smith williamsMedia & Entertainment giant Sony Pictures officially acquired anime heavyweight Crunchyroll from AT&T for a whopping amount of $1.175 billion. This acquisition is Sony’s second after it purchased a controlling stake in Funimation in 2017 for $143 million.
The plan?
Sony is looking to broaden its distribution of anime content as the demand for it is ever-increasing. The intention behind this acquisition is to expand offerings by creating a unified subscription experience, quoted Tony Vinciquerra, CEO of Sony Pictures.
But this points out two things -
What in the world does that even signify?
Can we hear the bells toll, heralding consolidation?
While anime content may not be considered mainstream, it pales in comparison to primetime television. However, the appetite for it is enormous and still growing.
However, one question still arises - is the investment worth Sony’s money?
The answer to this is perhaps yes. Combined with Funimation, Sony will be casting a wider net, just as AT&T had planned, thereby broadening distribution and expanding offerings. Besides, Funimation would arguably be more capable of capitalizing on Crunchyroll’s potential, given its enormous success. While it is not clear what a “unified anime subscription experience” refers to, however, it will likely offer a wide variety of anime content across different genres, packaged together in a seamless, on-demand experience.
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2022-07-27 09:11:02 +0000