US telecom giant AT&T has agreed to sell anime streaming service Crunchyroll to Sony Pictures Entertainment for $1.175 billion.
AT&T chief executive officer John Stankey said earlier that the telecom operator continues to take a deliberate and thorough approach to monetizing non-core strategic assets.
AT&T said it remains on track to generate $26 billion or more in free cash flow for 2020. John Stankey also said he anticipates the company in 2021 will generate free cash flow in the $26 billion range and gross capital investment in the $21 billion range.
Crunchyroll is a premier anime direct-to-consumer service within AT&T’s WarnerMedia segment with more than 3 million SVOD (subscription video on demand) subscribers.
It serves 90 million registered users across more than 200 countries and territories offering AVOD (ad-based video on demand), mobile games, manga, events merchandise and distribution.
Crunchyroll will become part of Sony’s Funimation, which already licenses several popular shows such as Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist, and One Piece.
“By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people,” said Tony Goncalves, chief revenue officer of WarnerMedia.
The combination of Crunchyroll and Funimation provides the opportunity to broaden distribution for their content partners and expand fan-centric offerings for consumers.
“We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family,” said Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
“Through Funimation and partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan, we have a deep understanding of this global artform and are well-positioned to deliver outstanding content to audiences around the world.”
Funimation’s streaming services offer a growing catalog of over 700 anime series and more than 13,000 hours of content available on 15 platforms and in 49 countries.
