Seeing the end of a transaction first announced in December 2020, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has confirmed that it has completed its acquisition of AT&T's Crunchyroll anime business through Funimation Global Group, a joint venture its runs with Sony Music Entertainment Japan’s Aniplex subsidiary.
Crunchyroll is a premier anime direct-to-consumer service with 5 million SVOD subscribers and growing. It serves 120 million registered users across more than 200 countries and territories offering AVOD, mobile games, manga, events merchandise and distribution. SPE says the deal, valued at $1.175 billion, provides the opportunity for Crunchyroll and Funimation to broaden distribution for their content partners and expand fan-centric offerings for consumers.
"We are very excited to welcome Crunchyroll to the Sony Group," said Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman, president and CEO, Sony Group Corporation. "Anime is a rapidly growing medium that enthrals and inspires emotion among audiences around the globe. The alignment of Crunchyroll and Funimation will enable us to get even closer to the creators and fans who are the heart of the anime community. We look forward to delivering even more outstanding entertainment that fills the world with emotion through anime."
"With Crunchyroll and Funimation, we are committed to creating the ultimate anime experience for fans and presenting a unique opportunity for our key partners, publishers, and the immensely talented creators to continue to deliver their masterful content to audiences around the world," added Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra. “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."
AT&T expects to use the proceeds from this transaction to help support its debt reduction efforts, with plans to reach a net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA of below 2.5x by year-end 2023 and focus on developing 5G and fibre networks. Part of this move included the sale of its WarnerMedia business to Discovery.
"We are very excited to welcome Crunchyroll to the Sony Group," said Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman, president and CEO, Sony Group Corporation. "Anime is a rapidly growing medium that enthrals and inspires emotion among audiences around the globe. The alignment of Crunchyroll and Funimation will enable us to get even closer to the creators and fans who are the heart of the anime community. We look forward to delivering even more outstanding entertainment that fills the world with emotion through anime."
"With Crunchyroll and Funimation, we are committed to creating the ultimate anime experience for fans and presenting a unique opportunity for our key partners, publishers, and the immensely talented creators to continue to deliver their masterful content to audiences around the world," added Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra. “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."
AT&T expects to use the proceeds from this transaction to help support its debt reduction efforts, with plans to reach a net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA of below 2.5x by year-end 2023 and focus on developing 5G and fibre networks. Part of this move included the sale of its WarnerMedia business to Discovery.
