Crunchyroll, the Sony-owned anime streaming service, is raising prices for its two top tier packages in select countries — the first pricing hike in five years.
The pricing is increasing for Crunchyroll’s Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan subscription tiers in select countries. “The price change reflects the increase in content on Crunchyroll in recent years, expanding its catalog to more than 45,000 episodes via 1,400 series and films,” the company said in a blog post. Crunchyroll also has introduced additional services like music and games, among other perks, to the top plans.
In the U.S., the Mega Fan tier will increase to $11.99/month (from $9.99/month) and the Ultimate Fan tier will increase to $15.99/month (from $14.99/month). The existing Fan tier will remain unchanged at $7.99/month. Prices for the two tiers also are going up in countries including Argentina, Colombia, France and Portugal.
Crunchyroll’s ad-supported option also remains unchanged, offering a selection of about 1,000 hours of anime for free.
Crunchyroll highlighted expanded content on the platform, including the recently launched spring 2024 anime season featuring more than 50 simulcast series (doubling its previous average of 20-25 series per season) and music videos as part of Crunchyroll’s partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
In addition, Crunchyroll has reduced the length of its free-trial period from 14 to 7 days of free viewing. The pricing and free trial changes are the first and only price changes to Crunchyroll since 2019 — new membership tiers and benefits were introduced in 2020, along with a price decrease in nearly 100 territories in July 2022.
All three of the service’s paid plans let subscribers access the entire Crunchyroll library ad-free and watch new episodes shortly after they premiere in Japan. Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan tiers both provide access to the Crunchyroll Game Vault, offline viewing and the ability to order Crunchyroll Expo convention exclusives online. The baseline Fan package offers a single stream, while Megan Fan allows streaming on up to four devices simultaneously and Ultimate offers streaming on up to six devices. Also, Mega Fan subscribers will receive “an exclusive swag bag” after 12 consecutive months of paid membership.
Crunchyroll is a joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan). In 2022, Sony folded Funimation and incorporated its content into Crunchyroll.
Source Agencies
