Sony has just reportedly purchased anime streaming Crunchyroll for an eye-watering $1.175 billion from WarnerMedia. It was heavily rumoured that Sony was looking to make a move and snatch up the streaming service, and now we have full confirmation.
"We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family," said Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. "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."
This is quite the purchase for Sony as Crunchyroll was enjoying great success before being acquired. According to a press release, the service has 90 million registered users across 200 different countries, which, of course, is a huge and broad spanning pool of users.
Do you think that this was a good move on Sony's part?