Crunchyroll's CEO, Colin Decker is stepping down from the role after three years. Simultaneously, Funimation chief operating officer Rahul Purini has been appointed as president of the company.“We are seeing substantial subscriber growth and are looking forward to some incredible new content coming to the service in the months ahead," Keith Le Goy, SPE’s chairman of worldwide distribution and networks, said. "The unification is well underway and going even better than planned, and we are really excited about the growth opportunities in manga, e-commerce and mobile gaming. Not to mention the recent box office success of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which has grossed US$34m in the US and is the number four highest grossing anime film in US box office history.”
Decker’s departure is confirmed eight months after Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)’s Funimation completed its US$1.175bn acqusition of Crunchyroll from US telecoms giant AT&T. Decker will remain with the company for a few more weeks to ensure a smooth transition. The purchase has integrated anime firms Crunchyroll and Funimation, with further mergers to come.
The company's direct-to-consumer service has around five million SVoD subscribers and 120 million registered users across more than 200 countries and territories, offering AVoD, mobile games, manga, events merchandise and distribution.
Funimation, on the other hand, has a slate of more than 700 anime series (13,000 hours of content) available on 15 platforms across about 50 countries. “Working alongside you has been an honour and a privilege. Because of your dedication, resilience and belief, we have realised what seemed impossible just a few years ago,” said Decker.
“Having spent the last seven years involved in nearly every facet of the business, and seeing how far we’ve come, the opportunity ahead is bright and I look forward to what we will do together next," Purini added. “There are so many things that excite me about this new role, but the one part that stands out is our clear opportunity: to accelerate the growth, size and love of anime around the world by putting fans and community first and by helping everyone belong.”