Sony completes $1bn Crunchyroll buyout • Eurogamer.net

Sony’s acquisition of anime-streaming service Crunchyroll is now complete, with the final price set at $1.175bn.

We first heard word of Sony’s intent to gobble up Crunchyroll late last year, when it bid $957m.

Today, Sony announced it had finally secured the service, its 5 million paying subscribers and more than 120 million registered users.

Sony, of course, is already a key player in the anime-streaming market via its existing service Funimation. Today, it said its goal was to create a “unified” subscription experience, suggesting a linked paid option is on the cards.

There are also plans to potentially offer Crunchyroll as part of a more expensive premium PlayStation Plus offering, Eurogamer understands.

“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,” Sony exec Tony Vinciquerra said.

“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.”