Funimation's imminent shutdown is no news, but a concrete date has now been announced. So, did Crunchyroll buy Funimation?
Funimation Is Officially Shutting Down Following Crunchyroll Unification
In February 2024, Funimation announced the end of its services by April 2024.
Before 2022, Funimation used to be one of the biggest anime streaming services, sharing each season's big releases with Crunchyroll. To keep up with all popular titles, subscribing to both services was almost essential.
This all changed when Funimation's ultimate merge with Crunchyroll was announced.
Following that, it was inevitable that Funimation would eventually shut down as it featured few new titles, and those were also available on Crunchyroll, making a Funimation subscription futile.
The forthcoming completion of Funimation's shutdown has led the anime community to wonder if Crunchyroll bought the streaming service.
Did Crunchyroll Buy Funimation? Rumors Explored
Neither Crunchyroll nor Funimation have fully explained the financial implications of their unification on their websites. While some fans assume that Crunchyroll bought Funimation, the case is slightly more complicated.
First of all, it is important to note that Crunchyroll is currently owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment through Aniplex, itself a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
In 2017, Funimation was acquired by Sony. The company went on to buy Crunchyroll in 2020 and, by 2021, the acquisition was completed.
This means that Crunchyroll did not technically buy Funimation since they are both part of the same parent company and, thus, are not competitors.
In early 2022, the company formerly known as Funimation Global Group was renamed Crunchyroll LLC.
While Sony has not explained its exact reasoning, the merger makes sense from a business perspective.
Most viewers believe that Sony decided to merge Crunchyroll and Funimation to have a single centralized anime service.
Crunchyroll was the biggest website, with a more extensive library and a more recognizable brand, which likely explains why Funimation had to go.
While having most of your anime in one place is not a bad idea in itself, not all Funimation users are happy.
Bought digital copies from Funimation won't transfer into Crunchyroll, making the danger of losing purchased media forever increasingly obvious, especially since hard copies are no longer the norm.
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