It’s official: Crunchyroll is now fully under the AT&T banner.
Earlier today, AT&T announced that they acquired Crunchyroll parent company Otter Media from The Chernin Group. The telecom bought Chernin’s controlling stake in Otter, bringing it under the company’s umbrella.
Otter Media owns the following:
- Ellation
- Crunchyroll
- VRV
- Fullscreen
- Rooster Teeth
Otter also holds stakes in content studio Gunpowder & Sky and Hello Sunshine, an organization that was co-founded by Reese Witherspoon.
Otter CEO Tony Goncalves will continue to helm the Otter Media, which will be brought into AT&T under their WarnerMedia unit. Goncalves will report to WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey going forward.
Stankey commented on the acquisition, stating:
We are thrilled to incorporate the Otter Media brands and talent into WarnerMedia […] Working with Tony, we look to harness Otter’s expertise in feeding the passion of on-line audiences to augment our portfolio of digital assets and help us further engage, connect and entertain consumers around the globe.
Tony Goncalves weighed in on the deal as well, noting:
The Chernin Group’s support and expertise has helped us expand Otter’s capabilities and refine our strategy over the past several years, and today’s news is a testament to our team’s dedication to super-serving passionate audiences across multiple platforms, […] Otter’s digital-native talent pool understands that today’s viewers want their entertainment mobile, social and community-centric. We plan to harness Otter’s talent and scale to engage and entertain fans around the world on their own terms. And we will continue to be agile and nimble — a hallmark of Otter Media’s culture — so we can deliver the digital, social-first content that our audiences want.
Chernin Group CEO Peter Chernin also commented on the news:
From the outset, Randall Stephenson and John Stankey championed the Otter strategy and vision, and AT&T has been an ideal partner in building the business — smart, creative and supportive […] With AT&T’s direct-to-consumer relationships, vast data and varied content, I believe they can accelerate Otter’s growth. The combination with WarnerMedia will create a new-era media company, serving customers with every type of content delivered through every possible distribution channel.
AT&T recently completed an acquisition of Time Warner. the $85 billion deal faced opposition by the Department of Justice, who claimed that the deal was anticompetitive. On June 12, though, AT&T was given permission by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon to complete the deal.
Sources: AT&T, Business Wire
