Sony to pay AT&T $1.2 Billion in Cash for Crunchyroll

UPDATE/correction: that’s $1.2 billion, not $1.8 billion

Thanks to a new deal, if regulatory approval is granted, and there isn’t some other deal between the two companies, count Crunchyroll gone from HBO Max in the future.

“We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family,” Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to leverage the power of creativity and technology to succeed in this rapidly growing segment of entertainment.” The deal is all-cash, and will need to clear regulatory approval

Crunchyroll, AT&T’s anime streaming service, sells for $1.2 billion to Sony’s Funimation – CNN

It is obvious that AT&T is shedding assets in order to pay down their debt and weather the pandemic storm, but is this really a good move when they are trying to build up HBO Max? Seems like they’re sending mixed messages to their HBO Max subscribers on their commitment — or lack thereof going forward — to having the best anime content on their service.

What do you think of this move? Better fit for Sony than AT&T (see: Sony Reportedly In Pole Position To Buy Crunchyroll from AT&T)? Should AT&T take the money and run? A little over $1 billion in cheddar is a lot of cash when you’re deep in debt and trying to finance 5G coverage everywhere. Especially in these times.

(SIDENOTE: Do we really care about 5G nationwide service? Seems like as soon as we got 4G, it was all about 5G … that’s the problem chasing upgrades in tech)

90 million subscribers at Crunchyroll is a tasty proposition, no doubt. It just seems that HBO Max should have been able to capitalize on that better.

Curious to hear your thoughts in the comments. Let’s discuss.