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Crunchyroll announces further expansion in India at Anime event in Mumbai
Mumbai: Crunchyroll, the world’s ultimate home for anime, announced more anime content and more dubs at a fan-filled premiere event in Mumbai this evening. The host of announcements signaled further investment in the India market and ambitions to super-serve anime fans in all parts of the country.
Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini, travelled to Mumbai to celebrate the screening of the Hindi dub (S1 – E1 and E2) of JUJUTSU KAISEN where he shared some news with a room full of passionate fans. The event was also attended by super anime fans, Tiger Shroff and Rashmika Mandanna, who shared their love for anime with fellow fans at the event.
A roundup of the evening’s breaking news during Purini’s remarks:
- Expansion of content library: Crunchyroll announced that it would add 40 new series and 200 hours of content by the end of 2023, many of which will be available in Hindi. These series would join fan-favorites Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Naruto Shippuden, and My Hero Academia already on the platform.
- Hindi dub for Chainsaw Man: Crunchyroll is making Hindi dubs of the popular Chainsaw Man available on 29 July. Chainsaw Man is the hit dark fantasy anime series based on the widely popular and award-winning manga of the same name written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto (Fire Punch; Look Back; Goodbye, Eri) and serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump. The Hindi dub cast list can be found below.
- JUJUTSU KAISEN will premiere season one dubbed in both Hindi and Tamil beginning 28 July, with three episodes airing every week. Dubbed episodes of JUJUTSU KAISEN season 2 will begin airing in the fall, but fans can catch new episodes subtitled in English streaming now on Crunchyroll.
- Telugu and Tamil Dubs: Finally, Crunchyroll will be introducing dubs in Tamil and Telugu by the end of the year, responding to the diverse linguistic preferences of Indian anime fans
Over the last year, Crunchyroll has reaffirmed its commitment to India, by reducing subscription fees and making payments available in local currency, adding more library hours and series, making Hindi dubs available (in India and worldwide), attending India Comic Cons and more.
Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini, “India is a special place for Crunchyroll. It has the second largest anime fandom on the planet and will drive 60 per cent of the global growth in anime interest in the next few years.We see first hand how much love there is for anime here, which is why we have been expanding our content catalog. We now have over 500 titles, 3800 hours of content and 7500 episodes – making us the largest anime catalog in India. AND: We’re adding nearly 40 new series and nearly 200 hours of content by the end of 2023”.
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Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
