From 2018 through 2022, the Western anime-streaming market consolidated rapidly around Sony's Crunchyroll service. The acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T in 2021 and the subsequent merger with Funimation produced a single dominant licensee for English-language anime. The consolidation has structural implications for animators, studios, and viewers that remain unresolved.
Pre-consolidation landscape
Through the 2010s, the English-language anime streaming market was multi-polar. Crunchyroll, founded in 2006 and converted to a licensed service from 2009, focused on simulcast subtitled streaming. Funimation, owned by Sony's Aniplex, focused on licensed dubs. Netflix entered the market in the mid-2010s with both licensed exclusives and original co-productions. Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max held smaller licensed catalogues.
The Sony acquisition
Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired Crunchyroll from AT&T in March 2021 for approximately US$1.175 billion. Sony already owned Funimation through its Aniplex subsidiary; the two services were merged through 2022. Most Funimation-exclusive titles migrated to Crunchyroll, and the Funimation app was retired.
Industry effects
The consolidation has reduced competition for licensing deals on the buyer side, which is generally understood to have weakened the bargaining position of Japanese rights holders selling to Western markets. From the studio's perspective the effect is mixed: Crunchyroll's larger catalogue produces higher per-title visibility, but per-title licensing fees are reportedly lower than what bidding wars between Crunchyroll and Funimation had produced. Netflix's continued investment in original anime co-productions — Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Devilman Crybaby, Beastars — provides the principal remaining competitive pressure.