Crunchyroll Avoids Hiring Anime Fans, Say Employees
Despite this growth, the anime market has become increasingly competitive, with Crunchyroll facing challenges from streaming giants like Amazon, Disney, and Netflix. Although these platforms didn’t initially focus on anime, they have heavily invested in the niche due to its lucrative potential.
According to Orina Zhao, research manager at Ampere Analysis, “There’s growth [at Crunchyroll] among casual anime viewers, but not among hardcore fans. Those tend to watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime, which are more mainstream.” This shift makes it harder for Crunchyroll to attract new subscribers.
Internally, the challenges are significant. Current and former employees report issues with management and unrealistic goals, such as the objective to reach 25 million subscribers by 2025. According to sources, this number was chosen more as a “marketing appeal” than based on consistent analysis. Additionally, ventures into areas like gaming and e-commerce have delivered unsatisfactory results.
Crunchyroll Avoids Hiring Anime Fans, Say Employees
Another point of tension emerged after the acquisition of Funimation, which brought changes in leadership. Employees claim that the new management has little connection with anime fans, describing the content as “children’s cartoons” and rejecting job candidates who identify as fans. These attitudes have contributed to declining worker morale and user engagement.
An internal survey revealed that only 39% of employees feel motivated by the company’s current strategy, a significant drop from 51% in the previous survey. Right Stuf, acquired by Crunchyroll, also experienced financial setbacks due to Sony’s request to remove adult titles, which accounted for about 5% of its revenue.
Crunchyroll is also struggling with subscriber retention, with a churn rate higher than the industry average of 5%. Furthermore, exclusive licenses for popular anime titles are being secured by competitors, such as Disney with Tokyo Revengers and Netflix with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Crunchyroll’s Response to Criticism
In response to criticism, Crunchyroll stated: “There’s never been a more exciting time to be an anime fan. We are strategically feeding a pipeline of content and experiences that strengthen fandom, deepen the love for anime, and expose more people to the genre. Our financial performance is exceeding expectations, and the company is well-positioned to grow alongside the rising global demand for anime.”
via Voce Sabia Anime