Funimation folds into Crunchyroll to create one giant anime platform
polygon.comCrunchyroll announced that starting on Tuesday, the entire library of Funimation anime — including shows, movies, and previously exclusive upcoming simulcast premieres — will live under the Crunchyroll brand. This move follows the acquisition of Crunchyroll by Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., who last year purchased the anime streaming service from AT&T and WarnerMedia for $1.175 billion.
“Unifying all of our brands and services under the Crunchyroll brand globally enables us to offer more value than ever before as we combine subs, dubs, simulcasts, library, music, movies, manga — all into one subscription.” Crunchyroll CEO Colin Decker said. “The new Crunchyroll is the realization of a dream, and we are grateful to the creators of anime and the millions of fans who have joined us in making the community what it is today.”
According to Crunchyroll, the upcoming slate of spring anime premieres will exclusively stream on Crunchyroll going forward, while 80 percent of Funimation and French anime streaming service Wakanim’s most popular existing series will be available to watch on Crunchyroll by the end of March 2022.
Pricing for Crunchyroll ($7.99/month, Fan; $9.99/month, Mega Fan; and $14.99/month, Ultimate Fan) will remain unchanged, and new Crunchyroll and VRV subscribers will receive 60 days of Crunchyroll Premium for free. In a FAQ page tied to the announcement, existing Funimation subscribers are recommended to cancel their subscriptions whenever they are ready, as Funimation will only continue to add new episodes of series currently airing.
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