Sony s Film and TV Profits Leap to $212 Million in Third Quarter
Patrick Frater, provided by
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Operating profits at the ‘Pictures Division’ of Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony leaped to $212 million in the three months from October to December 2020. That compares with a $51 million operating profit in the equivalent period in 2019.
The parent company enjoyed a 9% local currency gain in revenues, which hit JPY2.70 trillion in the period, which represents the third quarter of Sony’s 2020-2021 financial year. Net profits at the group level were up 62% to JPY 372 billion ($3.54 billion).
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The group’s ‘Games & Network Services’ unit saw revenues surge from JPY632 billion ($6.02 billion) to JPY883 billion ($8.41 billion), delivering operating profits up from JPY53.5 billion ($509 million) to JPY80.2 billion ($763 million).
Music Business Worldwide
February 3, 2021
Those streaming revenues hit $2.87bn in the 12 months, as Sony’s worldwide recorded music revenues – across all formats, licensing etc. – hit $4.51bn, up 8.1% YoY.
After a pandemic-affected wobble in calendar Q2, Sony Music had a much stronger Q3 – the three months to end of September – when its quarterly turnover returned above $1 billion ($1.16bn).
However, there can be no doubting the star quarter of Sony Music’s last year: numbers revealed by Sony Corp today (February 3), analyzed by MBW, show that Sony Music generated $1.36bn in global recorded music revenues in calendar Q4 (Sony’s fiscal Q3), up by 17.5% year-on-year. That represented a YoY jump in quarterly revenue of over $200m.
Good e-Reader
Funimation and Crunchyroll are two of the largest subscription based anime and manga streaming platforms. They tend to post anime the day it airs in Japan, allowing people access to material and helping curb piracy. Last Week, Sony Pictures announced that AT&T and Warner Media agreed to sell Crunchyroll to Funimation. The deal was in the works for the past couple of months and it looks like the transaction was estimated at $1.175 billion.
“The Crunchyroll team has done an extraordinary job of not only growing the Crunchyroll brand but also building a passionate community of anime fans. Crunchyroll’s success is a direct result of the company’s culture and commitment to their fans,” said Tony Goncalves, WarnerMedia’s CRO, in a statement. “By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people. I’m incredibly proud of the Crunchyroll team and what they have been able to accomplish in the digital me
Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced that it will be buying from AT&T the massive Crunchyroll anime business on behalf of its Funimation Global Group for about US$1.175 billion.
After months of rumors, the news is out: Sony’s Funimation Global Group is set to acquire AT&T’s Crunchyroll.
The companies have agreed to a sale price of $1.175 billion higher than the $975 million mooted in November, but lower than the $1.5 billion that the debt-laden AT&T reportedly sought to begin with. The price is subject to customary working capital and other adjustments, and will be paid in cash. The sale has not yet received regulatory approval.
The sale represents a major consolidation of global anime streaming and distribution. Crunchyroll has three million SVOD subscribers and 90 million registered users across 200 countries; in addition to streaming, it produces originals, publishes news, hosts a forum, organizes events, and more. Funimation streams a catalogue of over 700 series across 49 countries, and has distributed and marketed 6 of the top 20 anime films in the U.S.