Sony’s Funimation Acquires Anime Streaming Service Crunchyroll

Since Funimation is on the mind, thanks to the streaming service's debut on the Nintendo Switch, I think it would also be important to note some other big changes. The biggest of all being that of Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll (my anime streaming service of choice), and what that means for all of us subscribers.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. announced earlier this month that AT&T and WarnerMedia agreed to sell Crunchyroll to Funimation for the estimated purchase price of $1.175 billion. That's all well and good, but what does that mean for those 70 million free members and 3 million paid subscribers like us? First, it will be an addition. All Crunchyroll's subs and members will be brought over to Funimation...at least that's what it seems like. There are still MANY questions that need to be answered, but for the time being, the two services will remain running independently of each other. 

My hope is that by being a Crunchyroll paid subscriber, my membership carries over to Funimation. A lot of fans believe the service will now cost more, which I think is a fine trade-off considering the fact that Funimation will now have almost ALL of the pull when it comes to anime streaming. 

Consolidating the collection into one service is a plus in my book, but I do have high expectations. Funimation has run like total crap on our PS4s, and the interface has been lousy. The debut of the new layout on the Switch already has me excited so...here we go! Looking forward to the merger, even if it costs more money!