Crunchyroll Adds New Membership Tiers, Offline Viewing

Anime streaming site Crunchyroll has been the subject of much discussion lately, as rumours suggested that owners Warner Media had been trying to sell it. The company has been keeping mum on any potential sale. They have however announced a shakeup of their Crunchyroll premium subscription service and announced a number of new membership tiers.

The options vary depending on whether you are in the US or not. American subscribers will have access to four tiers, while users in the UK and other English speaking countries will have access to three. The service will continue to be available for free, with ads (and new episodes available one week after broadcast.

In the United States,  premium customers will be able to choose between Fan, Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan levels. Fan ($7.99 a month) is in line with the current premium offering, offering full library access, digital manga and day-and-date releases for new simulcast. Mega Fan ($9.99 a month) will additionally offer access to four concurrent streams and introduces offline viewing. Subscribers can also save $15 off $100 purchases at the Crunchyroll store every three months.

Ultimate Fan ($14.99 a month) will offer six concurrent streams, $25 off a $100 purchase every three months, and an annual member swag bag. Ultimate Fan subscribers can also get hold of exclusive merchandise.

UK and other English speaking users will be able to choose between the Fan  (£6.50 monthly) and Mega Fan  (£7.99) tiers (although they do not include the merchandise perks).  The Ultimate Fan tier is not available, but an Annual Mega Fan option is available with a 16% saving off the tier if you buy annually (£79.99 a year). Prices for other countries will vary, but should be roughly equivalent in local curency.

The new tiers will be rolled out internationally for new and existing subscribers by the end of September.