The future of the US streaming platform Hulu is in play after Disney’s chief executive Bob Iger said “everything was on the table”.
“We are intent on reducing our debt,” Iger said in a CNBC interview. “I’ve talked about general entertainment being undifferentiated. I’m not going to speculate if we’re a buyer or a seller of it. But I’m concerned about undifferentiated general entertainment. We’re going to look at it very objectively.”
Disney currently holds 66% of Hulu with the remainder belonging to Comcast. Both partners have been involved in the company since its origins in 2007, though various other media companies have taken holdings over the years, including Time Warner. Disney became the largest shareholder in 2019 with its acquisition of Fox.
Subsequently, there have been many statements as to Hulu’s future under Disney. Just five months ago Disney’s then-CEO Bob Chapek indicated he’d like to own all of Hulu if he could and under a 2019 deal, Disney can either buy Comcast’s 33% or force Comcast to sell in January 2024 for $9.2 billion.
If that were the case then Disney would have three prime platforms Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.
Iger’s intervention has raised the possibility of selling its stake to Comcast, where it may give a much-needed boost to Comcast’s Peacock streaming platform.
Either way as with Salto and the UK version of Britbox, it seems no traditional player is that interested in a streaming platform that doesn’t carry its own name.
