Society | Dec 10

Sony to buy U.S. anime giant Crunchyroll for $1.17 bil

Dec 10 (Japan Today) - Sony Corp said Thursday it has agreed to buy U.S. anime streaming giant Crunchyroll, which has more than three million paying subscribers, in a deal worth $1.17 billion.

By purchasing the anime, games and manga distributor from AT&T, Sony's entertainment division is hoping to strengthen its position in the global video streaming market and compete with the likes of Netflix and Hulu, which also offer anime titles.

Crunchyroll, founded in 2006, is the world's largest online library of Japanese animation.

Tony Vinciquerra, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said the firm had already developed "a deep understanding of this global art form" through its own anime streaming service Funimation, which it will combine with Crunchyroll.

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