Sony announced that it has agreed to acquire the animation distribution business developed by American telecommunications giant AT & T for about 120 billion yen in order to strengthen the distribution business of animation such as the popular animation "Kimetsu no Yaiba" overseas. Did.
This was jointly announced by AT & T and an American subsidiary of Sony's film business.
According to this, Sony's affiliated anime distribution company Funimation in North America has agreed to acquire AT & T's animation distribution business Crunchyroll for approximately 122.2 billion yen.
"Crunchyroll" distributes animations and games in more than 200 countries and regions around the world, and has about 90 million members.
Sony wants to distribute Japanese animation, which is popular overseas, such as "Theatrical version" Kimetsu no Yaiba "Infinite Train Edition" distributed by the group company "Aniplex" to the world, and through this acquisition, animation etc. The aim is to strengthen the distribution business.
Regarding video distribution, the market is expected to expand against the backdrop of an increase in the number of people spending time at home due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and companies such as Netflix and Amazon in the United States and Walt Disney, a major entertainment company, are strengthening their strategies. doing.