GM Joanne Waage, who took over Crunchyroll at the end of 2018, said the platform had grown rapidly. Founded in two hundred6, it reached 1 million broadcast subscribers in 2016, then reached the 2 million mark until the end of 2018. Initially, an online forum founded in San Francisco to download anime clips and message boards, has grown to 70 million registered users. in two hundred countries.
Crunchyroll claims to have the world’s largest anime library with over 1,000 titles and 30,000 episodes. Initially a unit of Otter Media and AT-T, it was transferred last year under the auspices of WarnerMedia and its entertainment president, Bob Greenblatt. The main explanation for the reorganization was the release of HBO Max, which includes an average anime rate hosted through Crunchyroll.
In an interview with Deadline, Waage refused to speculate on WarnerMedia’s broader broadcast strategy, but said “the purpose is to force both” Crunchyroll and HBO Max. “We think we can expand this region by exposing others to it,” he added. “Dramatic animation is in its infancy … We’re Fox 30 years ago with The Simpsons. It’s a category that will only grow.”
The more than two years have noticed a wave of activity within the parent companies, as AT-T closed its $81 billion acquisition of Time Warner and restructured it while seeking a billion-dollar influx in the transmission. The Niche FilmStruck service was shut down through WarnerMedia, and many of its library titles migrated to HBO Max, leaving many observers wondering if others would stay well. DC Universe, for example, was introduced as a direct client providing it in September 2018. HBO Max is now focusing on its DC titles, adding the next edition of the Director of Justice League.
Crunchyroll, however, remains in extension mode. At the end of 2019, it closed the majority acquisition of the VIZ Media Europe group, expanding its portfolio of client brands. It now operates the Digital Network anime broadcast (in partnership with Citel, a subsidiary of Media-Participations) and Anime on Demand, the DVD and manga editor KAZ, and the distributor of live action content Eye See Movies.
It is also active in e-commerce, games, occasions and vending and is a force in ad-backed virtual transmission. Subscription streaming will offer $8 prices consistent with the month or $80 for a full year.
Waage stated that the animation has been at the WarnerMedia center since the beginning of Warner Bros., and noted that Crunchyroll exists on HBO Max along with Rick-Morty, South Park, Looney Tunes and other titles. Hayao Miyazaki’s library was a key acquisition for HBO Max, and Spirited Away writer’s paintings are more youthful and more familiar than Crunchyroll’s ultimate anime, there is some overlap.
“What is this is that HBO Max understands it,” Waage said.
Citing studies on companies, he said that only 6% of Generation Z respondents agreed with the statement: “I don’t know what an anime is.” About 90% of Crunchyroll’s audience is made up of video game players.
“We don’t consider it to be a niche,” Waage said of the anime. “People need a network around them and they need to get involved.”
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