Crunchyroll has topped the 17M subscriber mark and parent company Sony has said it plans to turbo charge growth at the anime streamer. The new subs number, for paying customers as of end-March, compares to the 15M total that was previously out in the market.
Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini recently talked about growth plans for the service, which included widening its distribution and working with other parts of Sony, such as PlayStation. At a fan level, the most exciting evidence of that is Ghost of Tsushima, an anime series in the works based upon the hit Sucker Punch-produced game.
“Amid the anticipated continued growth of the anime market, Sony plans to accelerate Crunchyroll’s growth,” Sony said as part of a 2025 corporate strategy presentation. It added that plans are also afoot to broaden what it does in terms of anime merchandise and mobile games.
Crunchyroll already offers subs a suite of mobile games. The streamer is seen as a key part of Sony’s anime plans. It currently has about 50,000 episodes on its service and localizes its lineup into a dozen languages. The anime SVOD is enjoying success with the second season of Solo Leveling and will also stream the new Demon Slayer movie, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, after its theatrical release.
Sony talked about getting Crunchyroll more deeply embedded into other Sony products and services, noting work between the streamer and PlayStation Network to make the process of accessing Crunchyroll easier via a PS5 console.
More broadly, Sony said it is doubling down on anime, citing both the production studio Aniplex and Crunchyroll. “Anime is a key driver of growth for Sony Group,” it said. “Building on the success of Aniplex and Crunchyroll, Sony is advancing initiatives to expand its reach in anime and strengthen content development.”
The Japanese giant also detailed the setting up of anime label Hayate and an alliance with Kadokawa as examples of its efforts to get even deeper in anime.
From Deadline.com