On Wednesday, Crunchyroll announced price increases for its Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan tiers in several countries, including the U.S., Argentina, Colombia, France, Portugal, and others. In the U.S., the Mega Fan tier will rise from $9.99 to $11.99 per month, while the Ultimate Fan tier will increase from $14.99 to $15.99 per month. However, the Fan tier will remain at $7.99 per month.
Additionally, the Crunchyroll free trial period has been reduced from 14 days to seven days. Previously, amidst rumors of a price change, Crunchyroll had denied any announcements about such changes on February 29.
However, it’s noted that subscribers transitioning from a Funimation-only subscription to Crunchyroll may experience price adjustments. Crunchyroll had also stated that predicting price changes for the next two years would be improbable.
Crunchyroll’s first significant price increase occurred in 2019 across the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and the Nordics, followed by the introduction of multi-tier subscription options in 2020.
Crunchyroll Subscription Changes and Funimation Merger Updates
In October 2022, Crunchyroll raised monthly prices in various regions, including Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand, while in July 2022, it reduced monthly subscription rates in nearly 100 countries and territories.
The Fan tier offers an ad-free experience and access to new simulcast episodes upon release. The Mega Fan tier includes all Fan tier features, offline viewing, access to four simultaneous streams, a 10% discount on select items, and free shipping for orders over $50 on the Crunchyroll Store.
The Ultimate Fan tier encompasses all Fan tier benefits, plus offline viewing, access to six simultaneous streams, a 15% discount on select items, free shipping on the Crunchyroll Store, an annual Ultimate Fan member swag bag, and access to exclusive member-only merchandise.
On April 2, the Funimation app ceased operations as part of the ongoing consolidation of content and services from Funimation to Crunchyroll following their merger. Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini mentioned that Crunchyroll is working to compensate users migrating from the Funimation app with an appropriate value for their digital copies, a feature not supported by Crunchyroll.
Subscribers of Funimation have the option to migrate their account to Crunchyroll, retaining their watch history and queue, or merge their Funimation account with an existing Crunchyroll account if both are linked to the same email address.
Changes in Funimation Subscription Prices and Acquisition of Crunchyroll by Sony’s Funimation Global Group
Funimation noted that subscription prices may change for some customers, particularly “legacy” subscribers who had been enjoying lower subscription rates even after Funimation increased its prices. This change occurred as Funimation transitioned to a unified subscription service with Crunchyroll, which included a price increase in August 2022.
In March 2022, Crunchyroll announced the discontinuation of free ad-supported viewing, making a subscription necessary to access new and ongoing simulcasts. While the first three episodes of each title remained available for ad-supported viewing for a week after their premiere, subsequent episodes became limited to subscribers.
Ad-supported viewing was no longer available for episodes starting from the spring 2022 season onward, though older episodes remained accessible. Crunchyroll later updated its statement in September, stating that ad-supported content would rotate and refresh regularly.
Sony’s Funimation Global Group finalized its acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T on August 9, 2021, following the initial announcement of the acquisition in December 2020. The acquisition was valued at US$1.175 billion and was paid in cash at closing. Funimation’s home video releases are now listed under Crunchyroll as part of this consolidation process.