Disney’s takeover of Hulu is just about complete.
Comcast on Tuesday agreed to sell its ownership stake in the streaming video service to Disney. The sale won’t happen for at least another five years, but Disney will take full operational control of Hulu right now.
Under the terms of the deal, Comcast will sell its interest to Disney for Hulu’s fair market value no earlier than 2024. Disney has guaranteed that the sale price will reflect a minimum total equity value of $27.5 billion for Hulu at that time, according to a press release.
“Hulu represents the best of television,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement, adding that the company is now able to “completely integrate” Hulu into its streaming plans in a way that makes the service “even more compelling and a greater value for consumers.”
Disney executives talked about potentially bundling its services together for a discounted price. They also said they want all of their services, including Hulu, to reach profitability within the next several years.
“Hulu is the third leg of Disney’s streaming strategy,” said Trip Miller, a Disney shareholder and managing partner at Gullane Capital Partners. “Six months ago, you had four owners to the business and it was very complicated and confusing — so this brings about a lot of clarity and control of direction for Disney.”
But Hulu is beefing up its original content offerings. Earlier this month, the streaming service showed off a slate of upcoming programs, including “The Dropout,” a limited series about rise and fall of Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes. It’s also working on two new live-action Marvel series, “Ghost Rider” and “Helstrom.”
Hulu is going to need more programming as it prepares to eventually part ways with NBC content. Right now, Hulu carries a lot of NBC shows, including “Saturday Night Live,” “The Voice” and “The Good Place.” Comcast has agreed with Hulu to extend the service’s license of NBCUniversal content through late 2024.