Summary
- Netflix surpassed Crunchyroll in anime revenue in 2023, earning $2.07 billion.
- Crunchyroll still leads in revenue per subscriber.
- Crunchyroll may face tough competition if Netflix invests more in anime content.
In the last days of 2024, many were taken by surprise after Bloomberg reported major problems at Crunchyroll, at least according to many insiders Cecilia D’Anastasio and Takashi Mochizuki (the journalists signing the report) heard when writing the story.
In 2023, the anime industry generated $19.8 billion in global revenue, according to Parrot Analytics and the Association of Japanese Animations. They report that streaming services represented $5.5 billion of that revenue, while $14.3 billion was from merchandising sales. This shows how big anime is becoming.
Related
Is There An “Anime Bubble” on the Verge of Bursting?
A few industry insiders seem to think the anime industry is a bubble that might burst soon. Do we have any signs?
According to that same report, the leading platform in terms of revenue is not Crunchyroll, but Netflix, which earned $2.07 billion from anime in 2023. Crunchyroll earned $1.16 billion and Hulu, $903 million. They apparently didn’t measure how much Disney+ and Hulu generated in revenue together, as both services stream anime licensed by Disney (but Hulu streams “Disney anime” in the US, while Disney+ is the global platform for the same shows). While anime is only 3.9% of Netflix’s catalog, it represents 6.8% of the overall demand on the platform.
Richardson Handjaja, who focuses on industry reports on Animenomics, added that Crunchyroll is still the leading platform when it comes to revenue per subscriber (as it would be expected) and Netflix has an advantage since its subscribers base is larger than Crunchyroll’s.
What is Parrot Analytics?
Parrot Analytics is a data company focused on analyzing audiences across different platforms and languages, often releasing research results regarding how people are consuming content on streaming services and TV. They also research pirate consumption (or at least used to, it’s been a while since they last dropped reports on that front).
What Does It All Mean To The Industry?
Crunchyroll is still the leading platform when it comes to the diversity and quantity of anime available in their catalog, but this shows how powerful Netflix can be if the service invests harder in anime. Netflix generally aims to be a platform for the broadest public it can reach, so the service is unlikely to focus on anime series that are too niche, but it would be a challenge for Crunchyroll if most of the hyped titles ended up on Netflix or Hulu/Disney+.
Also, Crunchyroll might have the rights to many series that are currently unavailable on its platform and, as already reported by Bloomberg, this and other things could sever their relationship with some distributors/right holders from Japan. What this all means is that competition might be tougher than expected for Crunchyroll, but we will have to wait and see how this all develops from now on (for now, some executives might be more excited about the big screens).
While Netflix generated more overall revenue, Crunchyroll still leads when analyzing revenue per subscriber.
Source: AnimeHunch, Parrot Analytics
-
Netflix
Netflix is one of the most popular and widely viewed streaming services in the world. Beginning with its mail order DVD service, Netflix has since grown into an entertainment juggernaut, with original shows and movies including Squid Game, Stranger Things, The Irishman, and The Killer.
