Disney may be staring down at opportunity gobble up Comcast's 30 percent stake in Hulu, according to a new report, which would bring Disney's share in the streaming service to 90 percent.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNBC reported Thursday that Disney and Comcast are in talks for a deal, adding that the laugh cons of doing a deal now rather than later. ”CNBC said it's unclear whether the deal will go through, and Comcast declined to comment.
However, the report does raise some interesting questions about Hulu's future as Disney gears up to launch its mammoth streaming service Disney + later this year. Namely, what the hell is going to happen to Hulu if Comcast pulls programs by NBCUniversal — which it acquired in 2011 — and particularly with NBC's own streaming service on the way? According to CNBC's sources, these shows will remain on Hulu:
As of today, NBC provides about 17% of Hulu's content. NBC has no plans to remove content from Hulu, which will continue to serve as NBC's vessel for same-season shows even after the launch of the company's new streaming service in 2020, according to people familiar with the matter. (NBC's streaming service will showcase the company's library of TV shows and movies.) However, with respect to Hulu's relationship with NBC, it was very much in everybody's interest to maintain. And we are – no new news today on it, other than [Hulu is] really valuable. And we're really glad we own a large piece of it. ”
Neither Disney nor Hulu immediately returned requests for comment. programming than Disney +, which will be focused primarily on family-friendly material (this is, after all, Disney). Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Robert Iger also said during an earning call in November that the company planned to invest in more original series for Hulu.
strength and other things too like demographics, we think there is an opportunity to increase investment in Hulu notably on the programming side, "More at the time, per the Verge.
Basically, Hulu will continue to be Hulu – at least for the foreseeable future. Though it would be cool if Disney + decided to just roll Hulu's programming into Disney + (and stopped calling it that) for one mega-streaming platform. I mean, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic, and all of Hulu? Just take all of my money.
At the very least, we may get a bundle.
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