Crunchyroll Hits 21 Million Paid Subscribers, Announces Global Summit
The 4 million subscriber gain in one year shows anime streaming growth has not plateaued, and the New York summit signals Crunchyroll's intent to position itself as the industry's central business hub beyond licensing.
Reporting from 1 sources: Animehunch.
Crunchyroll surpassed 21 million paid subscribers worldwide as of May 2026, up from 17 million a year earlier. The Sony-Aniplex joint venture also announced the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum, an invitation-only summit to be held in New York in October, its first major industry event outside Japan.
Crunchyroll crossed 21 million paid subscribers in May 2026, a gain of 4 million from the 17 million it reported in May 2025. The Sony Pictures Entertainment and Aniplex joint venture now offers more than 50,000 anime episodes globally and has expanded into theatrical releases, games, music, live events, and merchandise.
Alongside the subscriber milestone, Crunchyroll announced the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum, an invitation-only summit scheduled for October 7 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. The company described it as the anime industry's first global summit, gathering leaders from anime, gaming, music, film, and technology under the theme 'Designing for Anime's Future.' Holding the event outside Japan for the first time, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said, is expected to further expand worldwide awareness of anime.
As part of its Ani-May 2026 campaign, Crunchyroll is offering discounted premium memberships for new and returning subscribers in more than 35 countries, with Fan membership at USD1.99 per month and Mega Fan membership at USD2.99 per month for three months.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.