According to an article by Recode, a technology news site, AT&T is looking to purchase Otter Media which is the parent company of the popular anime streaming site Crunchyroll. After spending $85 billion on a merger with Time Warner Cable, AT&T is looking to acquire full ownership of Otter Media as early as this summer. AT&T currently co-owns Otter Media with Ther Chernin Group and a full acquisition would mean that AT&T would gain full control over services such as Crunchyroll and FullScreen which is a video company that started off as a YouTube network.
AT&T began working with the Chernin Group in 2014 and has reported nearly $500 million that they have invested into the joint venture. While a price for Otter Media hasn’t been established yet, analysists believe it will be somewhere north of $1 billion.
At this time, it is uncertain what AT&T is planning to do with the services should they acquire them but this hasn’t been a well-kept secret. AT&T has made it known since November of last year that they had a vested interest in acquiring Otter Media entirely. Right now, AT&T is merely waiting for the entirety of the Time Warner deal to settle before they move on with this purchase.
