Crunchyroll Changing Most Popular Plans For First Time In Half A Decade
Consumers are no strangers to streaming service price hikes from companies like Netflix, but the anime streaming service Crunchyroll has been known to keep prices fairly static. Now, for the first time in five years, the service will be raising prices for the two top-tier packages in certain countries. This means those with the Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan subscriptions may want to watch out for the price hike coming up.
The Hike
Crunchyroll announced the price hikes in a blog post, explaining the increase is due to the service’s vast increase in content and the catalog’s expansion to over 45,000 episodes and 1,400 series and films. Additionally, the top plans give customers access to services like music, games, and more. US customers can expect to see the Mega Fan tier pricing to increase to $11.99 a month ($2 addition from the previous $9.99 a month pricing) and the Ultimate Fan tier increasing to $15.99 a month (up $1 from the previous $14.99 a month pricing).
Meanwhile, those with the standard Crunchyroll Fan tier won’t see prices change, as that tier will remain at $7.99 a month. Customers in the countries of Argentina, Colombia, France, and Portugal can also expect price hikes to the Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan tiers. The ad-supported free tier that offers a selection of content will also remain unchanged.
Justifying The Increase
Crunchyroll also expressed to fans the value of the service by pointing out the over 50 simulcast series airing on the platform for the 2024 anime season. This is more than double from the previous 20 to 25 average series from previous seasons. There are also music videos on the service as part of the company’s partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
A Shorter Trial Period
One other minor change is the trial period is being reduced from 14 days to 7 days. As mentioned, this is the first price increase to the platform since 2019, though almost 100 territories saw a price decrease in 2022. Regardless of what tier you have, you get access to ad-free anime and simulcasts for a wide variety of new shows after their Japan premieres.
Additional Perks
Those with the Mega and Ultimate Fan tiers get additional perks like offline viewing, exclusives from the Crunchyroll Expo, access to the service’s games, and streaming on four devices for the Mega Fan tier and six devices on the Ultimate Fan tier. Meanwhile, the standard Fan tier only allows streaming on one device. But, with how common streaming service price hikes are in the streaming era, it’s nice to see a major service like Crunchyroll keeping things pretty even for so long.
Most Subscribers Won’t Feel It
Unlike services like Netflix, Crunchyroll is also keeping things the same for its standard tier, so many subscribers won’t see a change at all. If the service really only does this every five years or so, it’s hard to complain, especially when it’s far and away the easiest way to access new and old anime series and films. The company also isn’t exactly blowing smoke when it points out the expanded catalog, as the service fully rolled Funimation’s content into its platform in 2022 after acquiring the company earlier.
Source: Variety
