Sony CEO Vinciquerra noted Crunchyroll’s growth amid rising global anime popularity, facing fierce competition from Netflix and Hulu streaming.

SUMMARY

Sony CEO Tony Vinciquerra noted the growing passion and popularity of anime globally post-pandemic.
Increased anime viewership has intensified competition in the market, affecting Crunchyroll.
Crunchyroll is navigating both external competition and internal challenges after the Funimation merger.

Two of the biggest streaming anime sites, Crunchyroll and Funimation, are cracking down on copyright infringement. Yet, Crunchyroll suffers from piracy issues as well as increasing competition that could jeopardize its future

Courtesy of Crunchyroll

For years, Crunchyroll has held total dominance over the anime market as the go-to licensor for exclusive anime and simulcasts. Any true anime fan knows that even giants can fall, and Crunchyroll is no exception. In 2024, it ceded its dominance over the anime market to rivals like Netflix.

Recently, Sony Pictures CEO discussed the increasingly competitive anime market, highlighting the rise in global anime popularity and naming its two major industry rivals.

Sony CEO discusses Crunchyroll’s growing competition in the expanding Anime Market

Crunchyroll boasts the world’s largest library of Japanese anime, making it ideal for watching ongoing series, with new episodes arriving just an hour after their Japanese premiere. In Spring 2022, Funimation merged with Crunchyroll, further expanding its extensive library.

Courtesy of Crunchyroll

In 2021, Sony bought Crunchyroll for a considerable $1.2 billion. In hindsight, the acquisition made perfect sense as the 2020 COVID pandemic resulted in a surge in anime demand, with more people staying at home.

As a leader in the industry, Crunchyroll was a natural acquisition for any profit-driven company eager to capitalize on the growing interest. Sony has been working to popularize anime globally and capture the market, but it’s been a challenging task.

Recently, Sony’s CEO shared some insider details about the true competition in the anime market. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sony CEO Tony Vinciquerra revealed:

We haven’t rolled Crunchyroll out in the entire world yet, so we still have quite a ways to go. The audience for anime is violently passionate — violent in a good way, not violent in a bad way. They are the most passionate audience ever. It’s got a great future. 

Indeed, the anime’s popularity has skyrocketed, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Anime may seem like niche content, but it’s far more mainstream than many realize.

Sony isn’t the only one noticing this, as several major rival streaming platforms are now prioritizing their presence in the anime market. On this, Tony Vinciquerra shared:

Unfortunately, others have noticed now and are starting to get into the business. Netflix and Hulu are starting to get in the business and raise the cost of product for us. But, you know, that comes with success.

The past few years have been tough for Crunchyroll, as it has not only had external pressures but internal conflicts within the company to create tension among the workers.

Not to forget, a new report by Cecilia D’Anastasio and Takashi Mochizuki at Bloomberg sheds light on testimonies from 18 current and former Crunchyroll employees, uncovering tensions between Crunchyroll and Funimation staff, dissatisfaction with management, and concerns over layoffs.

Okarun | Credit: Science Saru

Despite Dandadan emerging as the standout anime of the 2024 season, the Crunchyroll boss’s attempt to sabotage this fan-favorite series has left many questioning the platform itself.

With the internal conflicts, it will be very hard for Sony to compete with its rival streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. However, one thing is certain: anime will continue to rise and become even more popular in the coming years.

Crunchyroll files over 45 million URL takedown requests to combat piracy

Crunchyroll and Funimation, two of the world’s leading anime streaming services, have filed more than 45 million URL takedown requests in a strong push to combat piracy. The exact number as of December 6, 2023, was 10,138,526,722. These URLs were hosted across 5,402,321 domains.

Sung Jinwoo, voiced by Aleks Le, in Solo Leveling – ReAwakening. [Credit: A-1 Pictures]

Although Crunchyroll has registered its copyright in over eight million cases, the company only reported a little over 7,000 of these counts.

Interestingly, Remove Your Media LLC (RYM) is believed to have acted frequently on Crunchyroll’s behalf in its fight against pirate websites.

Jiji, Okarun, and Momo from Dandadan | Credits: Science Saru

Outside of copyright takedown requests, Crunchyroll, linked to the MPA and ACE, has been highly active in pursuing legal action. While Crunchyroll and Funimation have issued 45.1 million copyright takedown requests, Naver Webtoon recently filed a subpoena for over 170 illegal websites. (Via Los Angeles Times)