Anime Streaming Market: Crunchyroll and Netflix Dominate

The anime streaming market is growing rapidly, with a new Wall Street study revealing that Crunchyroll and Netflix lead the industry with impressive dominance.

According to Bernstein’s research, these two platforms accounted for a combined 82% of the global market in 2023, valued at approximately $3.7 billion. Projections estimate this market will reach $16 billion by 2030.

Anime Streaming Market: Crunchyroll and Netflix Dominate

Despite competing for exclusive content, both companies have managed to coexist and expand their offerings. Netflix secured exclusive rights for popular titles like Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King and the One Piece remake

Crunchyroll excels in sublicensing content and anime production. Recently, titles like Dandadan and Dragon Ball DAIMA have been available on both platforms. Netflix has the advantage of a broader audience and leads in household watch time, according to Parrot Analytics.

On the other hand, Crunchyroll excels in anime merchandise licensing, generating over $1 billion in revenue in 2023. The platform also participates in anime production committees, ensuring revenue from copyright licensing.

Criticism of the Streaming Business Model

Despite growth, both Netflix and Crunchyroll face industry criticism. Experts argue that Netflix’s large budgets don’t always benefit animators directly, while the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) criticized the company for its payment structure and lack of transparency in audience data.

Crunchyroll has also faced backlash for not providing clear revenue data to animation studios and has been accused of poor treatment of voice actors. While the industry is shifting toward non-exclusive licenses, reports suggest streaming platforms are pushing for longer distribution windows and even demanding full rights to some IPs, reducing studios’ profits.

Anime streaming is undeniably expanding, but transparency and industry compensation remain hotly debated topics.