Crunchyroll gets its first-ever streaming bundle and it’s a weird pairing

Crunchyroll just announced its first-ever streaming bundle, and frankly, it’s a weird combo. The anime streamer is partnering with Starz for a new subscription bundle that’s only available through Prime Video. Needless to say, it’s a bit unclear how much overlap there is between those interested in watching Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Outlander, but who knows?

While many streaming services, like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney Plus, have made efforts in recent years to shore up their anime offerings, Starz is not one of them. Additionally, the service’s original programming has been somewhat sparse as of late, with its main ongoing shows being the Outlander spinoff Blood of My Blood and the currently airing Power Book III: Raising Kanan. In recent years, the service has been known for shows like Spartacus and Ash vs. Evil Dead.

New customers can access both streamers for $16.99 per month, an announcement from Crunchyroll and Starz reads.

“This offering brings together two services with distinctive programming, giving viewers access to a range of stories and genres,” said Alison Hoffman, president of Starz Networks, in a press release. “The way households discover and consume television continues to evolve. This bundle with Crunchyroll and Prime Video enables us to broaden our reach and introduce the STARZ slate of premium programming to new viewers.”

Given this partnership, it’s possible Crunchyroll may do the same with other streaming services in the future. Prime Video lets viewers access various streaming services like Paramount Plus, Peacock, Apple TV, AMC Plus, HBO Max, Britbox, and others. Some obvious pairings to bundle with Crunchyroll are RetroCrush or AMC’s HiDive, as these are both anime-focused.

Crunchyroll’s subscription costs have gone up several times in recent years. In February, monthly subscriptions increased by $2 across the Fan, Mega, and Ultimate tiers. The Fan tier jumped from $7.99 to $9.99, Mega increased from $11.99 to $13.99, and Ultimate rose from $15.99 to $17.99 per month. Perhaps even more bafflingly, Sony decided to restrict access to Crunchyroll’s storefront to subscribers of the Mega and Ultimate tiers only. If you don’t have these higher-cost memberships, you can’t buy Blu-rays, figures, and other physical goods from the company. While the service still undeniably has the largest anime library of any streaming service, these recent moves have proved frustrating.