Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini on how anime took over the world
Feb 26, 2024
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Crunchyroll's President discusses the booming popularity of anime, with Gen Z and millennials as key viewers. The company's growth is driven by converting pirated content viewers into paying subscribers. The podcast also covers Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T, Funimation's shutdown, and Crunchyroll's strategy for global expansion.
Crunchyroll's growth is driven by anime fans choosing to pay for content over piracy.
Crunchyroll collaborates with Japanese creators to produce content tailored for global audiences.
Crunchyroll operates under Sony, using OKRs and RACI model for structured decision-making.
Crunchyroll focuses on enhancing streaming infrastructure and product experience for anime enthusiasts.
Deep dives
Crunchyroll's Singular Focus on Serving Anime Fans
Crunchyroll, a streaming service specialized in anime, has seen significant growth, particularly among younger audiences. While the service experienced a surge in subscribers during the pandemic, its growth is primarily driven by more anime fans choosing to pay for content instead of resorting to piracy. With a vast global audience interested in anime, Crunchyroll aims to cater to existing anime fans and provide a wide range of genres and stories to meet diverse preferences.
Maintaining Authenticity and Relationship with Japanese Creators
Crunchyroll emphasizes the importance of maintaining authenticity in its anime content, believing that anime with roots in Japan reflects a unique storytelling and cultural connection for fans. The company actively collaborates with Japanese creators, sharing consumer data insights to influence show production and co-produce content tailored for international audiences. By bridging global and Japanese creative ecosystems, Crunchyroll ensures the content aligns with fan expectations while respecting the original storytelling essence.
Navigating Complex Corporate History and Decision-Making Framework
Despite a complex corporate history involving mergers and acquisitions, Crunchyroll aims to operate as a cohesive entity within the Sony umbrella. The company follows a structured decision-making framework, incorporating OKRs and the RACI model to ensure accountability and clarity in organizational processes. By aligning teams toward a common audience-centric goal and leveraging data-driven strategies, Crunchyroll navigates the challenges of a tech-media hybrid company, aiming for sustainable growth and quality anime experiences.
Challenges with Digital Ownership and Customer Relations
Crunchyroll faces challenges in digital ownership as digital purchases may not guarantee permanent access, creating complexities for customers and digital media industries. The company strives to address customer concerns regarding digital purchases, offering alternatives like access on other platforms in response to the evolving digital landscape. Despite the industry-wide issue of digital ownership uncertainties, Crunchyroll emphasizes transparency and customer satisfaction in finding solutions for affected users.
Continuous Investment in Streaming Infrastructure and Product Experience
Crunchyroll recognizes the ongoing need to invest in streaming infrastructure and product experience to meet evolving consumer expectations and provide a purpose-built anime-focused platform. While leveraging existing streaming technologies, the company focuses on enhancing the anime viewing experience, understanding consumer preferences, and distinguishing itself through user-centric design and tailored content offerings. By prioritizing innovation and product enhancements, Crunchyroll seeks to maintain a dedicated and engaging platform for anime enthusiasts.
Creating a Purpose-Built Anime Experience
To enhance the user experience for anime fans, Crunchyroll focuses on providing a purpose-built interface that caters to the unique preferences of fans. They prioritize elements like quick access to subtitles and dubs for new releases, allowing viewers to seamlessly switch between modes of viewing. By testing and improving the user interface, Crunchyroll aims to offer an authentic and engaging anime-watching experience.
Navigating the Complexities of Streaming Platforms
In a rapidly evolving streaming industry, Crunchyroll faces challenges in managing multiple TV platforms with diverse operating systems. To address this complexity, they prioritize investments based on audience preferences and utilize automation in developing and deploying apps. By focusing on prioritization, efficiency, and audience reach, Crunchyroll aims to adapt to the changing landscape of streaming services.
Today, I’m talking with Rahul Purini, the president of Crunchyroll, a streaming service focused entirely on anime — and really, the biggest anime service still going. Rahul has a long history with anime: he spent more than seven years at Funimation, a company that started in the 90s to distribute Dragon Ball Z to US audiences, before getting the top job at Crunchyroll.
Anime might seem like niche content, but it’s not nearly as niche as you might think – our colleagues over at Polygon just ran a huge survey of anime viewers and found that 42% of Gen Z and 25% of millennials watch anime regularly.And Crunchyroll is growing with that audience — like most entertainment providers, the service absolutely exploded during the pandemic, going from 5 million paying subscribers in 2021 to more than 13 million as of last month.
But interestingly Rahul says Crunchyroll’s growth isn’t being driven by more and more people watching anime, but more and more anime fans — especially those watching pirated content — choosing to pay for it.
