Crunchyroll Now Controls 75% of All Anime and CEO Plans To Make it Exclusive

0:00 Crutch roll now controls approximately 75% of the anime streaming market. This dominant position raises important questions about competition and distribution. The company has expanded significantly becoming a key player in both licensing and producing anime content. The dominance of Crunch Roll means that many viewers now turn to this single platform uh for most of their anime needs. Despite its growth, Crunchroll has remained silent on its involvement with major Netflix exclusive series. This lack of clarity adds a layer of complexity to its business practices. Industry observers note that such exclusivity could limit the availability of certain titles to a broader audience. The interplay between Crunchyroll and Netflix reflects broader trends in the streaming landscape where

0:46 exclusivity often shapes viewer experiences. Well guys, I mean seeing this title, there's multiple articles on this by the way. You have an article like this. You have an article like this talking about it. There's quite a few people talking about there's a Reddit post about it as well. There's a few people talking about this and I saw this grace my feed and I was just like really is it actually true that Crunchroll controls 75% of anime being produced or 75% of anime they have licensed under their umbrella and they are allowing the West to see. If that is indeed the case and this number is actually accurate, that's a pretty scary thing because it's like there is just so much more that Crunch can control. But the fact that they've already managed to make it this far, it's it's a monopoly. It it's

1:32 exactly what I and so many others have been saying for a very long time. But it's very clear if this number is indeed accurate. And Crunchroll legitimately has licensed and they are connected with over 75% of all titles of anime that's produced in a yearly basis. It's already over. Like it it's like we're already seeing the spiral, the deaf rattles of anime culture itself. Because this right here, this this is what I've been talking about. This is what I've been warning about. This is what many of us have been worried about for a very long time. And this this is pretty this is scary. So before I go any further, let's continue reading this article and then we'll dive more into what this overall all means. So the impact on viewers, the reality that Crunch will control such a

2:18 significant portion of the market leads to an important implications for viewers. With so many titles in one place, users may find it convenient. However, it also raises concerns about content diversity and accessibility. A single platform yielding substantial control can shape the types of shows produced. As a result, viewers may miss out on a broader array of storytelling. Competition within the anime streaming sector is crucial for ensuring varied content. When one platform holds the majority, creative risk may diminish. The rise of Crunchyroll creates challenges for smaller distributors. Traditional anime fans have historically favored diverse sources, making this shift noteworthy. So, this entire segment right here is very interesting. I like this little opinion piece or

3:03 little addition here to this article because I think this really does reflect the negatives of, you know, Crunchyroll controlling the vast amount of the market. Honestly, this statement can be applied to pretty much any company. I think if there is any company that controls like 75 or even over 50% of the content of that certain entertainment, that's not good. It it's not they there no company should have a monopoly because the risk of and I think I should explain this is that if a company holds a monopoly, they don't need to innovate. They don't need to make their content better. They don't need to necessarily reform or try to have a better user experience. Because if they own the entirety of the culture of the entertainment and they have no competition that could even put a dent in them, why would they need to improve their web browser? Why would they need to improve like their search function?

3:49 Why would they need to add comments? Why would they need to worry about if you can even communicate with them? Because the only way you can actually get anime legally is through them. So effectively the damage here is that if a company holds the majority of anything, they don't need to innovate. They don't need to listen to their customers. The only time they necessarily do is if they start losing a lot of money and people start canceling their subscriptions. But then that gets into the era of piracy. And I'm not going to do the moral high ground and stuff with that. I'm just saying it's still like always a complete answer to the problem because Crunchroll now they don't just have a iron grip on anime in the west like for instance United States or Europe and stuff they have an iron grip on anime at the very source where it's produced with Anniplex as well being owned by Sony it's just

4:36 it's not good because this means that with the overall influence that Crunchroll has they can shape and mold certain things to get anime or certain stories to get green lit it and certain stories to just be no, cancel that, get that out of here. And you can lead to more safer projects, projects that, you know, play it safe, do the exact same thing over and over instead of trying to innovate and do something relatively unique. And we got to look at the overall business model of what Crunch has obviously been catering to and what mainstream anime has been doing as well. We got to think about it like this recent Crunchroll Anime Awards is very relevant to this topic actually. It's very clear that shownen is a big money maker. Crunch obviously sees this. Soul leveling is a good example of this. And

5:21 you know, if that is going to continue, that trend is going to continue and it will continue, that means that Crunch will heavily put all their resources and everything into producing more anime like soul leveling, which would dilute the waters and make other projects like for instance, let's say if it's a slice of life series, fall on deaf ears or not be relatively important in comparison to a battle shown in action fest like solo leveling. Now, there's nothing wrong with enjoying these type of stories, but the big point here is is that Crunchroll doesn't just have a grip on distribution into the West. They have now been involved in anime projects, producing of anime at the source in Japan. So those that want to let's say theoretically pirate and get away from crunch roll and not even use their service necessarily

6:07 you're still using their service because if they are helping produce like for instance something like soul leveling technically you're still supporting them because you are watching the show that they produced. So there is really no escaping cuz Crunch Roll's money and influence has grown to such an extent that honestly at this point in time I don't really know what a solution is besides a rival company coming in or Crunchroll going bankrupt which I just it's bad man. Like this is a legitimately bad situation just seeing this type of article being made and seeing basically that Crunch controls like 75%. I don't know if this number is entirely accurate. I I have no idea, but I would have to pull up a list of anime that comes out on a yearly basis and crossch checkck that with like, you know, what's on the crunch roll service. If someone's already done the math on

6:53 this or the research into this, please let me know in the comments below. Or if someone wants to do that, also let me know in the comments below. But I mean, it is kind of believable because Crunch does pick up a lot of projects and typically anytime they do pick up a project, usually it's exclusive. And that really kind of falls into what this statement from the actual CEO of Crunch Roll said that he wants more exclusives on the platform. He wants anime to be strictly just Crunch Roll and not associated with any other platform which gets into like you know issues that that means that people have to subscribe to Crunch Roll to even legally watch something inconvenient at that. But then to go one step further with all of this issues is the fact that we have seen Crunchroll actively hinder you know and

7:38 sabotage advertisement of anime that they have to share exclusive rights with. For instance, Dawn to Dawn. I talked about this already but we saw how Crunchroll reacted when Tohjo was like hey you got to share the exclusive rights you know with Netflix as well. And because of that Crunchroll decided not to even advertise Dondon. A lot of people didn't even know Dondon was on their platform. So when you see just this statement from the CEO himself about exclusivity and you talk you like you talk about how much they control, it's not good, man. It's really dark, man. Like this is a dark time for the anime community. It's uh it's not good, man. Like it's just it's getting worse and worse as time goes on. But uh I just I wanted to talk about this. I saw this grace my feed. What's your guys' thoughts? Do you think Crunch actually does control 75% of anime that is produced like that's coming out onto

8:25 streaming or do you think that this number is inaccurate? If anyone could do the math and the research on this, please do so. I would love to see that and the data and stuff that accompanies it. But thank you so much for watching. Be safe. Stay healthy. She outs.