In a new report from the fine folks at Nikkei Asia, we've learned that Sony is in the final negotiations to acquire Crunchyroll, the U.S. anime streaming giant. The deal is said to come in at around 100 billion yen, which is $957 million. That's a large chunk of change, but it means bringing Crunchyroll's massive worldwide audience under the Sony umbrella.

If Sony and Crunchyroll are available to finalize this deal, that will be a huge move in the streaming space. The PS5 maker will then have both Crunchyroll and Funimation under its umbrella. All of that anime might not immediately put them into a fight with Netflix and Hulu, but it certainly gets them closer.

After all, Crunchyroll's acquisition would give Sony access to both a gigantic user base and over 1,000 new titles. Plus, it opens the door even further for them to start developing their own properties into movies and the like. It may not be as immediately exciting for the gaming crowd as say Microsoft acquiring Bethesda. However, this could have wide-ranging ramifications for the Japanese giant.

If Sony was able to grow its subscriber base through Crunchyroll, that would lead to a larger revenue stream from streaming. A Sony that's competing with Netflix and Hulu for your streaming eyeballs is a more powerful Sony. If they can leverage that into things like games for new, popular IP or other areas, it would be a win-win for the company.

Of course, only time will tell if the deal is successful. That said, as soon as we know more, we'll share it with you.