Crunchyroll Eclipses 15 Million Monthly Paid Subscribers Just 7 Months After Hitting 13 Million
Crunchyroll Eclipses 15 Million Monthly Paid Subscribers Just 7 Months After Hitting 13 Million
While considered a niche in the larger streaming landscape, anime has proven to be a powerful genre in the evolution of digital entertainment. As all streamers are looking for ways to attract and engage younger consumers, leading anime platform Crunchyroll has apparently cracked the code as, on Wednesday, it reported that it has surpassed the 15 million monthly subscribers benchmark.
Key Details:
- Anime streaming service Crunchyroll reports that it has hit 15 million paid monthly customers.
- In January, Crunchyroll announced that it was at 13 million only paid subscribers
- This past spring, the platform announced its first rate hike in five years.
The 15-million customer announcement comes just seven months after Crunchyroll reported hitting the 13-million subscriber mark in January, showing that its schedule of regular releases of Japanese animation is connecting with a growing number of viewers.
“Today marks an exciting milestone not only for Crunchyroll, but for the entire anime industry,” Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said. “It is proof that the rich stories, characters and experiences that our partners create are resonating deeply with fans at record numbers all over the world. As the number of people excited about anime continues to explode and the breadth of content continues to widen, we believe it has never been a better time to be an anime fan.”
Every season, the platform simulcasts 45 to 60 new and returning anime series as they air in Japan. Those new episodes pair nicely with the more than 25,000 hours of anime series, movies, and music in the streamer’s library, which includes 50,000 animated episodes. The streaming platform also hosts events to help grow the anime community. Crunchyroll focuses on connecting anime fans and creators to celebrate their shared passions via events, games, music, news, consumer products, collectibles, and more.
Earlier this year, Purini said that he believed that there was a massive untapped market of anime fans.
“We have research that shows that there’s about 800 million people that are anime aware, anime interested, and watching anime outside of China and Japan,” Purini told The Verge. “So that’s a huge [total addressable market]. So for us, we feel like there’s opportunity to grow and continue to grow, even being singularly focused on this audience.”
As the platform continues to grow, in May, Crunchyroll raised its monthly subscription price for the first time in five years. At the time, Cruncyroll’s Megafan subscription went from $9.99 per month to $11.99 and the Ultimate Fan plan increased from $14.99 per month to $15.99. In addition to its paid monthly subscription plans, Crunchyroll also offers a free, ad-supported streaming option.
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is a subscription video streaming service catering to fans of anime with over 30,000 episodes. Viewers can see new episodes of shows one hour after they air in Japan, and read hundreds of chapters across dozens of manga titles. Some of their more popular titles are Dragon Ball Super, Attack on Titan, and Fire Force.