Crunchyroll Launches Inaugural Anime Leadership Summit in New York
The summit marks Crunchyroll's first attempt to formalize cross-industry collaboration between Japanese anime creators and international entertainment, tech, and gaming sectors outside of Japan.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, The Hollywood Reporter Anime.
Crunchyroll announced on Friday that it will host its first invite-only industry summit, the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum, in New York City on October 7. The one-day event will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, on the eve of New York Comic Con, which runs October 8 through October 11 at the same venue. The summit's theme is "Designing for Anime's Future," with sessions planned around fandom, technology, storytelling, and intellectual property protection. Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini said in a statement that the event is the first and only type of industry event outside Japan where anime is the central topic of discussion. The company also announced that it has crossed 21 million paid subscribers globally. The summit will invite leaders from Japan's anime sector as well as from Hollywood, tech, gaming, and music industries. Specific speakers and programming have not yet been disclosed. The announcement came as Crunchyroll's parent company Sony Group prepared to report its fiscal-year earnings later on Friday in Tokyo.
Purini's full statement, carried by multiple outlets, said "anime's fandom, its cultural relevance and place within the entertainment industry cannot be underestimated and is a central part of the global entertainment industry fabric." He called the forum "the first and only type of industry event outside of Japan where anime is front and center for discussion."
The summit extends Crunchyroll's existing event portfolio. The company has hosted its annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards since 2017; the 10th anniversary edition is set for Tokyo on May 23, with past guests including Megan Thee Stallion, Bong Joon Ho, and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller alongside Japanese industry talent.
The announcement landed as Sony Group prepared to report fiscal-year earnings in Tokyo. Sony executives flagged anime as a central priority at CES in early 2025, when president and COO Hiroki Totoki appeared on stage in Las Vegas alongside Purini and Aniplex president Atsuhiro Iwakami. Investment bank Jefferies has forecast the global anime market to reach $60.1 billion by 2030, up from $22 billion in 2023, according to the Association of Japanese Animations.
Crunchyroll's subscriber base has grown from roughly 3 million at the time of Sony's 2021 acquisition to more than 21 million. The company has expanded beyond streaming into theatrical distribution, licensing, merchandising, manga, music, gaming, and live events.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network Crunchyroll Hosts Inaugural Anime Leadership Summit in New York on October 7
- The Hollywood Reporter Anime Crunchyroll to Launch Inaugural Anime Leadership Summit in New York