AT&T has closed its $1.175 billion sale of anime-focused subscription streaming service CrunchyRoll to Sony.
CrunchyRoll just passed the 5 million subscriber threshold, with some of those customers paying as much as $7.99 for the premium no-ad tier. The service, which also has free ad-supported iterations, has 120 million users.
AT&T, which just closed the spin-off of its pay TV business, and is the process of spinning off WarnerMedia, announced the sale of CrunchyRoll back in December, part of an overall push to get back to the core business of connectivity and 5G.
““Crunchyroll adds tremendous value to Sony’s existing anime businesses, including Funimation and our terrific partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan,” said Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, in a statement. “With the addition of Crunchyroll, we have an unprecedented opportunity to serve anime fans like never before and deliver the anime experience across any platform they choose, from theatrical, events, home entertainment, games, streaming, linear TV -- everywhere and every way fans want to experience their anime. Our goal is to create a unified anime subscription experience as soon as possible.”
