Crunchyroll Increases Prices for Funimation Legacy Subscribers

Crunchyroll prices will rise for legacy and annual Funimation subscribers.

Anime News Network has revealed its email correspondence over future Crunchyroll price rises following Funimation’s end-of-service announcement. Crunchyroll directed ANN to Funimation’s website, which states that “legacy” customers who remained on Funimation’s cheaper subscription even following its price rises will now be transitioned onto the current Crunchyroll tiers. These are $7.99 for the Fan tier, $9.99 for the Mega Fan tier and $14.99 for Ultimate Fan. Crunchyroll did not confirm whether price rises were planned for the future, stating it had “no announcements about a price change at this time” but that price changes within the next two years were improbable to predict for that time frame.

Funimation’s sunsetting will take place on April 2, 2024. An excerpt from its official announcement reads: “As part of our transition to Crunchyroll, the price of your new Crunchyroll plan will increase on your next billing cycle and charge your current payment method on file. Future billing will be provided by Crunchyroll. You will receive an email with more information.”

Crunchyroll Will Compensate Customers for “Forever” Digital Content Purchases

Price concerns haven’t been the only challenge customers have faced following the merger of Crunchyroll and Funimation. Fans who held a Funimation annual subscription will see their subscription canceled following the move. Additionally, those who had received “forever” digital copies of purchased Blu-ray content have since been told that these would no longer be supported. Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini has since informed customers that the company is working on compensating customers. This could involve access to a digital copy on another rival service or a Crunchyroll discount. The Verge has noted that this compensation scheme has proved “inconsistent and difficult to take advantage of.”

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Funimation was revealed to be one of the U.S.’ biggest anime streaming services platforms following a new report by Polygon. Consolidating its large customer base into Crunchyroll may have benefits in ensuring creatives are better appreciated and compensated through increased revenue and exposure. The recent 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards saw Suzume director Makoto Shinkai, popular Oshi no Ko theme song artist YOASOBI, Bocchi the Rock! character designer and chief animation director Kerorira and more all thanked for their efforts in anime. Using big stage events to appreciate creatives is something that Naruto‘s Studio Pierrot director Keirou Itsumi said was an important focus in future. Another example of how Crunchyroll’s size could benefit consumers was showcased by Purini, revealing that it was the company that decided to produce Solo Leveling alongside Aniplex by leveraging consumer tastes.

Nevertheless, the continued erasure of ownership over paid-for media, as was the case with Funimation’s digital copies, constant price rises across the streaming industry as a whole, and issues that tend to arise with monopolies — which many fans have publicly worried that Crunchyroll is becoming — remain concerns for anime viewers going forward.

Source: Anime News Network