Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has suspended all operations in Russia and discontinued home entertainment releases such as: Spider-Man: No Way Homeand temporarily block access to its anime streaming service, Crunchyroll, according to a report by Variety† The move will also pause all TV distribution deals in the country.
“We stand behind many companies around the world that have now shut down their operations in Russia, and in support of the humanitarian efforts currently underway in Ukraine and the surrounding region,” said Tony Vinciquerra, CEO of SPE, in an email to employees seen by Variety† “We have also halted our planned home entertainment releases, including ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and any future television distribution deals. And this morning Crunchyroll suspended its anime streaming service in Russia”
Sony, owner of anime streaming service Funimation, bought Crunchyroll last August and later announced it would merge both services — a process that has already begun. As indicated by ComicBook.coma translated message on Crunchyroll’s Russian website says it has been “forced to suspend its work in Russia,” noting that users will not be charged for their subscriptions as long as the service goes out in the country. Funimation al is not available in Russia†
Sony has already pulled morbius and other future cinema releases from Russia last month, with the Sony-owned PlayStation suspending all sales and shipments to the country early this week. Sony’s music division has announced that it cessation of its activities in Russia on Thursday.
In addition to Sony, entertainment giants engaged in television, movies and gaming have also taken sales and services out of Russia, including Warner Bros., Disney† paramount importance† UniversalNetflix and quite a few major gaming companies.