After months of speculation about its future, the US catch-up TV portal Hulu has taken itself off the market.
In a joint statement from Hulu owners News Corporation, Providence Equity Partners, The Walt Disney Company and the Hulu senior management team, the company said the sale process had been terminated.
“Our focus now rests solely on ensuring that our efforts as owners contribute in a meaningful way to the exciting future that lies ahead for Hulu.” The partners said they looked forward to working together towards greater success.
Founded in March 2007, recent months have seen reports of disagreement among the shareholders over the company’s future digital strategy and the price the partners were willing to accept.
With echoes of the recent about-face from Netflix, over the split of the company’s online and packaged media businesses, last December Hulu had dropped plans for an IPO that might have raised some $300 million (€217.9 million).
Amazon, DirecTV, DISH and Google were all mentioned in connection with a possible sale.