Sony is in talks to acquire Grungeroll from Warner Media, a $ 1 billion deal that could have massive repercussions on the anime streaming world.
Then Several months of negotiations, Sony is in the final stages of acquiring anime streaming service Crunchroll From WarnerMedia. It is said to cost more than Sony 7 957 million Great improvement from the $ 150 million they paid to add Crunchroll to their capabilities Fun In 2017.
Given the sheer size and popularity of crunchrol, this deal could have massive repercussions for anime fans around the world. A lot of questions are flying around about potential streaming wars, connections and alliances, so let’s summarize what we know now.
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Will Sony become a monopoly?
Sony Pictures TV already owns 95 percent of Funimation, in addition to Homes Aniplex and international licensing companies Such as Vaganim and the Madman anime group. In addition to Crunchroll, this could bring Sony a step further to have a complete monopoly on anime streaming.
Of the so-called anime streaming battles, the rest of the competitors are Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and HIDIVE, each with a different level of influence. Netflix is easily the biggest player, recently created Exclusive deals NAZ, Science SARU, Studio Mir and MAPPA with anime studios. They have been successful in shows like Devilman Griffith, Neon Genesis Evangelical And anime-influence Fort, They stream many licensed titles from Funimation and / or Crunchroll.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video has some notable titles – Made in the abyss, Banana fish And Vinland Saga Remember – but they mostly strayed from the anime game. Hulu and Hidev have not received many exclusive deals in recent seasons, and Hulu a Long-term partnership With Funimation, both sites share multiple topics. So animation and crunchroll seem to be everywhere, and as an anime consumer, it’s definitely hard to escape them if the deal escapes – and Sony.
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Does Crunchroll integrate with Funimation?
Back in 2016, both Funimation and Crunchroll will announce Partner. The list of each site is fully available to FunimationNow and Crunchyroll subscribers, and Funimation will create dubbed titles and their own. However, the deal is a Sudden results Funimation was acquired in 2018 by Sony and Grungeroll AT&T.
Now, the question remains: will history repeat itself? Both companies are subject to acquisitions and may have been restructured to suit the needs of the parent association, so each of them has undergone a major transformation over the past four years. Despite their ever-growing relationship, it seems more than likely that Sony will merge the two companies under its watchful eye. Whether it is good for consumers or not is yet to be seen.
How will Crunchroll’s work with other companies be affected?
If WarnerMedia sells the crunch, it raises the question of how the two can move their joint ventures forward. For example, Cruncroll has previously teamed up with adult swimmers Tsunami To expand the anime sequence of the volume, but is this relationship now touching, with Tsunami Warnermedia and Crunchroll coming out?
Adult swimmer SVP, Jason Timarko, is “skeptical” that their original co-products with Crunchroll will be affected under the deal, but he revealed Uncertainty About whether Crunchroll will continue to license its content to Tunami.
As for the HBO Max, the only crunchroll animation they offer Kipli, So if they lose the crunchroll library, they have only one (albeit powerful) strength in the anime market. VRV is another WarnerMedia asset that relies heavily on the crunchroll library for subscribers, but Sony is likely to break that federation. When Sony bought Funimation, FunimationNow removed From the VRV bundle, and added the VRV HIDIVE in an attempt to make up for it.
Meanwhile, Crunchroll is currently maintaining partnerships VIZ Media And Webtoon Respectively for home video releases and manwa licenses respectively. Will these relationships change under Sony-owned Crunchroll? If the body sales of VIZ are high and so on The tower of God, God of high school And Generosity Act satisfactorily, Sony may choose to capture these relationships, but only time will tell.
In the end
For now, fans have no idea what’s in their animation, just waiting for these mega-partners to make all the important decisions. In the end, the acquisition is not inherently frightening. People worry about whether the choices made will benefit the consumer or the company.
Sony may be kind to us, assembling Funimation and Gruncrol at low cost and maintaining all production work relationships of Gruncrol. Alternatively, they can choose short and hoard the rights to the crunchroll properties because they can charge a higher fee for the subscription. Maybe the deal will fall at the last minute and none of this will be fulfilled. Whatever lies ahead, it is beyond our control.
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