AT&T is in discussions to sell WarnerMedia’s Crunchyroll Japanese anime-streaming service to Sony, according to three people familiar with the situation. If the two sides could reach a deal—which is far from certain—it would strengthen Sony’s position in the niche market, as it already owns a rival anime service called Funimation.
But there’s a sticking point in the potential deal: price. AT&T is asking $1.5 billion, an amount that Sony has balked at, the people said. The price is well above recent values for other niche streaming services, analysts said.