Since its merger with former rival Funimation, anime streaming platform Crunchyroll has suffered from out-of-touch higher-ups, according to a new report from Bloomberg that spoke with 18 current and former Crunchyroll employees.
The report says that where Crunchyroll staff could once work in an environment where “they felt heard by their bosses” and joke that “‘At least we don’t work at Funimation,'” the post-merger situation has brought in a number of executives — most from Funimation — that dismiss anime, the main product that Crunchyroll sells, as mere “‘kids’ cartoons.'” These particular executives are also resistant towards the hiring of self-described anime fans.
One particular name that gets mentioned in the article is Markus Gerdemann, a senior vice president who is the overseer of Crunchyroll’s marketing. The Funimation hire, who previously marketed Netflix shows like Unorthodox, is alleged to have brought with him former advertising colleagues that became known internally as the “‘boys’ club’” He is also seen to have brought a lack of experience with anime, resulting in scenarios like the unlit ship from Crunchyroll’s One Piece concert at Comic-Con and an internal email that, citing “‘ongoing acquisition discussions,'” announced the decision to not “‘further lean into the promotion of’“ DAN DA DAN, one of the Fall 2024 anime season’s most notable titles (and a title that’s also available on competitor Netflix).
According to Bloomberg, the One Piece concert incident “underwhelmed” attending representatives from Toei. Internally, Gerdemann’s management led to a hit on morale and resulted in two complaints filed to human resources. One of these complaints came with allegations of sexist behavior, of which Gerdemann was cleared after an investigation by Sony, while the other accused Gerdemann of “creating a hostile work environment.”
Some of the other issues mentioned in the report include Crunchyroll’s floundering attempt to entice subscribers with anime-based mobile games like One-Punch Man World, which is currently suffering from a content drought, and the now-defunct Princess Connect! Re: Dive (the game is still alive in Japan). Its merchandising side has its own struggles too. Sony‘s request to remove the adult manga and toys offered by Crunchyroll-acquired retailer Right Stuf contributing to its shrinkage (those products provided approximately 5% of Right Stuf’s revenue, according to Bloomberg), and Crunchyroll has displeased both manga publishers and authors with its manner of producing and selling merchandise. Staff from both Crunchyroll’s video game and e-commerce sections were culled in the summer.
Crunchyroll’s main anime business doesn’t seem to be looking very peachy either. Bloomberg cites an internal document revealing the streaming service’s goal to limit monthly subscriber turnover to 8.5%, and how its plan to hit 25 million subscribers by 2025’s end is suffering from it being “designed to project a big, catchy number.” Crunchyroll was a relative rarity when it originally transitioned from a pirate service to a legitimate business, but now exists alongside multiple other notable anime-providing streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video.
Outwardly, Crunchyroll maintains that it’s in a position of strength, telling Bloomberg that it “is outperforming our financial expectations, and the company is well positioned to continue to grow alongside the rising global demand for anime.”
Correction: Removed the quote marks around the word “out-of-touch” in the headline and article, as it is not a direct quote.
Correction 2: Added context regarding the DAN DA DAN promotion decision.
Source: Bloomberg
