Sony's Crunchyroll faces increased competition in the anime sector.

Sony's Crunchyroll acquisition shows initial success, but rising competition and internal challenges threaten future growth and subscriber goals.

Sony's Crunchyroll faces increased competition in the anime sector.

At first, Sony's $1.2 billion purchase of Crunchyroll seemed like a win. With 15 million subscribers now enjoying the $8-a-month service, and the number of new shows doubling to over 50 every quarter, things looked bright.

But hold up! The anime market is heating up fast. Giants like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon are throwing cash around to snatch up shows, making it tough for Crunchyroll to keep up and attracting fans away. On top of that, internal support for management is sliding, with failed ventures in video games and e-commerce dragging the company down. Their big goals for subscriber growth? Yeah, they’re starting to look pretty unrealistic.

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