Editing Sony (section)

==== Anime ====
{{Main|Aniplex|Crunchyroll}}
[[File:SME Rokubancho Building.jpg|thumb|[[Aniplex]] headquarters in [[Chiyoda, Tokyo]], Japan]]

<!-- Don't add Sony Pictures Animation to this section. -->Sony's entering into the Japanese animation, or [[anime]], business happened in 1995 when its [[Sony Music Entertainment Japan]] (SMEJ) division established [[Aniplex]] as its subsidiary managing creative productions, which founded [[A-1 Pictures]], the first anime studio of Sony, ten years later. Since then, through group-wide and international ventures,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Moore|first=D. M.|date=9 December 2020|title=Sony's Funimation acquires anime streaming service Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion|url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/9/21547657/sonys-funimation-acquires-crunchyroll-deal-price-watching-anime|access-date=12 January 2021|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=2021-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202182322/https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/9/21547657/sonys-funimation-acquires-crunchyroll-deal-price-watching-anime|url-status=live}}</ref> Sony has solidified its position in the industry, elevating the business to what is called the "fourth pillar of its entertainment portfolio" according to ''[[The Nikkei]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sony sets out to conquer entertainment world with anime|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Media-Entertainment/Sony-sets-out-to-conquer-entertainment-world-with-anime|access-date=12 January 2021|website=Nikkei Asia|language=en-GB|archive-date=2021-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218130614/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Media-Entertainment/Sony-sets-out-to-conquer-entertainment-world-with-anime|url-status=live}}</ref>

The anime business operations of Sony are scattered around the group, mainly in its Pictures and Music units, as follows: SMEJ's notable related businesses include Aniplex and its subsidiaries [[CloverWorks]] and A-1 Pictures; Aniplex and U.S.-headquartered [[Sony Pictures]] co-own U.S.-based anime distribution company [[Crunchyroll]], which since 2022, has become the successor company to [[Funimation]], which it acquired in 2017 and included subsidiaries such as [[Wakanim]] (absorbing into Crunchyroll itself) and Madman Anime (to be rebranded as [[Madman Anime|Crunchyroll Pty. Ltd.]])<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Spangler|first1=Todd|date=24 September 2019|title=Sony Merges Anime Streaming Businesses Under Funimation-Led Joint Venture (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/sony-anime-funimation-aniplex-joint-venture-1203346579/|access-date=12 January 2021|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113140952/https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/sony-anime-funimation-aniplex-joint-venture-1203346579/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2020, Funimation announced that it would buy [[AT&T]]'s animation business [[Crunchyroll]] for $1.175 billion, which would help the company to compete more globally with entertainment giants such as Netflix.<ref>{{Cite news|last2=Hu|first1=Makiko|last1=Yamazaki|first2=Krystal|date=10 December 2020|title=Sony to buy AT&T's anime business for $1.18 billion to expand global footprint|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-at-t-divestiture-idUSKBN28J3B7|access-date=10 December 2020|archive-date=2021-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218015724/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-at-t-divestiture-idUSKBN28J3B7|url-status=live}}</ref> This acquisition was completed in August 2021.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=Mateo|first=Alex|date=9 August 2021|title=Sony's Funimation Global Group Completes Acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-08-09/sony-funimation-global-group-completes-acquisition-of-crunchyroll-from-at-t/.176073|access-date=9 August 2021|website=Anime News Network|language=en|archive-date=2021-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809205048/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-08-09/sony-funimation-global-group-completes-acquisition-of-crunchyroll-from-at-t/.176073|url-status=live}}</ref>