[Shank]

The truly ironic thing is how the cycle is now complete. Crunchyroll is now owned by Sony. Sony also owns Aniplex, a major anime distributor, and A1 Pictures, its animation subsidiary that produces a lot of popular anime. The former pirate site is now owned by the company that produces the work!

[creamyhorror]

Just according to k--plan. A Japanese media conglomerate wanted vertical integration with a global distribution channel, so they went out and got it. They would probably have done it earlier; they just never had a suitable paid platform to acquire before (and possibly tried to build their own unsuccessfully).