Crunchyroll has 70 million free members and some 3 million paying subscribers. | Image: Crunchyroll
Sony is close to finalizing a deal to buy US-based anime streaming service Crunchyroll for nearly $1 billion, according to a report from Nikkei Asia.
Nikkei says Sony negotiated exclusive rights to bid for the streaming service and its 3 million paying subscribers earlier this year, and the two companies have now “entered into final negotiations.” Although an asking price is unclear, Nikkei notes that Sony could end up spending “more than 100 billion yen” on the company — around $957 million.
Crunchyroll is owned by US telecoms giant AT&T, which has reportedly been looking to offload the streaming service for a while. AT&T is keen to minimize its significant debt load, which totals more than $150 billion. According to a report from The…