A new report has revealed that Crunchyroll, the anime streaming giant owned by Sony, made a deliberate decision to limit the promotion of Dandadan, a popular anime title from Toho.
The decision was communicated in an internal email by Markus Gerdemann, Crunchyroll’s senior vice president of marketing, who has faced criticism over his management style and strategic decisions.
In October, Gerdemann sent an email to Crunchyroll staff instructing them not to “further lean into the promotion of Dandadan,” citing ongoing acquisition discussions.
This move raised eyebrows within the company and among industry observers, particularly as the show debuted as the second-most-viewed non-English title on Netflix.
Despite its strong performance on a competing platform, Crunchyroll’s apparent sidelining of the series has drawn criticism for potentially undermining its relationship with Toho and the broader anime community.
Crunchyroll’s decision to limit the promotion of Dandadan may hand a significant advantage to Netflix, which has been aggressively expanding its footprint in the anime market.
By securing exclusive licenses for popular titles like Delicious in Dungeon and Little Witch Academia, Netflix has demonstrated its ability to dominate the anime streaming space, leaving platforms like Crunchyroll struggling to compete.
On top of that, a survey by Polygon earlier this year revealed 76% of Gen Z anime fans watch shows on Netflix, compared to 58% on Crunchyroll.
With its broader reach and significantly larger licensing budgets, Netflix is poised to gain further traction, especially as decisions like Crunchyroll’s pullback on Dandadan allow Netflix to solidify its position as the go-to platform for anime fans.
Gerdemann, who joined Crunchyroll after a stint marketing popular Netflix shows like Unorthodox, has been a controversial figure within the company.
He brought in a group of former advertising colleagues, referred to internally as the “boys’ club,” further fueling dissatisfaction among employees.
Seven current and former employees have criticized his lack of experience in the anime industry and the strategic decisions made under his leadership.
Two employees also filed complaints with human resources, one alleging sexist behavior and another accusing him of creating a hostile work environment.
Source: Bloomberg
Markus Gerdemann – someone should murk that nigga
Markus Gerdemann – someone should murk that nigga