After acquiring the anime streaming service Crunchyroll for US$1.2 billion in 2021, Sony has taken the next step in growing its subscription base by introducing price cuts to its premium ad-free membership in 95 countries.
The Mega Fan subscription is dropping 25 percent in the UK, 37.5 percent in Brazil, and some regions will also get local prices. Subscribers in India will be paying just 99 rupees (US$1.24) while those in the UAE will be paying 19 dirhams (US$5.17) instead of the international price of US$9.99.
The price cuts also affect most countries in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, but Crunchyroll did not state what the reductions are. The price changes do not impact North America or most of Western Europe though. Here is the list of all countries affected.
The price change will take effect in the subscriber’s next billing cycle, which depends on whether you are on a monthly or yearly subscription.
While Crunchyroll did not state outright the reason for the price cuts, we can easily guess its intention. Like all subscription-based services, it is looking at growing its monthly paid users as it competes with free streaming sites and other streaming platforms. And that means good deals for anime fans living in the regions affected by this change.
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