Crunchyroll Anime Streaming Service Announces Price Change

The anime streaming service Crunchyroll has announced it will be raising its rate on new premium subscriptions starting on May 1. Those who are already premium subscribers are getting a temporary reprieve from the price hike, remaining at their current rate for a few more months.

The prior Crunchyroll Premium subscription was set at $7 USD, and beginning on May 1 that will go up to $8. Premium members were notified of the rate change, along with word that their current rate will continue through August 1, 2019. New subscribers will begin at the new rate.

This follows a series of rate changes for streaming services. Netflix recently raised its prices by $1-2 for all tiers, and then shortly after, Hulu dropped the price for its most popular plan, which is the one with ad support. Crunchyroll is a more specialty service than both of these, though, focusing squarely on anime series and movies.

Each of the streaming services is preparing for more competition in the near future though. Disney is expected to launch its Disney+ streaming service this year, offering selections from its catalog of movies and shows along with new series set in the Marvel and Star Wars universes. Meanwhile Apple has recently announced its own premium subscription, Apple TV Plus, with its own slate of originals lined up. Pricing for those upcoming services has not been announced.