Crunchyroll’s Streaming Service Launches On Prime Video Channels In The U.S. And Three Other Territories

Crunchyroll, Sony’s anime subsidiary, has reached an agreement with Amazon for its subscription streaming outlet to be offered via Prime Video Channels.

The hub for a range of subscription services like Max, Starz and Paramount+ with Showtime, is a potent subscriber acquisition engine. Crunchyroll has had momentum already in that department, with almost 11 million subscribers as of earlier this year, double its level of just a couple of years ago. Sony acquired Crunchyroll from AT&T in 2021 for $1.2 billion, combining it with Funimation to create a dominant provider of anime fare.

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The new arrangement will bring two tiers of Crunchyroll’s subscription offering (Fan and Mega Fan) to Prime Video Channels this week in the U.S. with Canada, Sweden and the UK. Additional territories will launch in 2024. Both subscription tiers are ad-free and include new episodes shortly after they are released in Japan. The Mega Fan tier also lets subscribers download titles for offline viewing. The Crunchyroll library of streaming anime programming is the world’s largest, according to an announcement of the distribution pact. It spans 24,000 hours, 46,000 episodes and more than 1,300 series and films.

“Crunchyroll offers an anime adventure for every kind of fan. From sports to romantic comedy, horror and action to slice-of-life, even the anime-curious can get immersed in our library,” said Terry Li, EVP of emerging business, Crunchyroll. “We look forward to welcoming new fans into the anime community through our launch on Prime Video Channels.”

The Amazon streaming strategy encompasses original film and TV titles from Amazon Studios as well as third-party content either via Prime Video Channels subscriptions or as rentals or purchases via the Prime Video Store. Matt Cohen, head of content acquisition and partnerships, Prime Video Channels, said the addition of Crunchyroll would mean that Prime members can now “easily stream anime content on Prime Video.”

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