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May 16, 2023
Comcast has apparently cooled to the idea of retaining and/or expanding its ownership stake in subscription streaming VOD co-pioneer Hulu.
Speaking May 16 on the MoffettNathanson’s Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in New York, chairman/CEO Brian Roberts told attendees that it seemed more “more likely than not” the media giant would cash in its 33% stake in Hulu next year in a previously-arranged agreement with Disney to sell its minority stake for a minimum guaranteed amount of $9.3 billion.
Disney owns the majority 66% stake and operating control following its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets in 2019.
Roberts said a Hulu stake sale would be a first for a major SVOD player, and made even more valuable by the platform’s lifeline of Fox and Disney content. The executive’s sentiments seemed to suggest Comcast no longer is interested in acquiring Disney’s stake in Hulu — as was the case when Bob Chapek was CEO of the Magical Kingdom.
“I think we have a very valuable position,” Roberts said, echoing past statements made regarding Comcast’s leverage in the negotiations. “What would a willing buyer [for Hulu] in a robust auction pay?”
Disney CEO Bob Iger, on the company’s fiscal call last week, said the company would be combining the Disney+/Hulu apps into a singular bundled app offering this year.
“It’s clear that a combination of the content that is on Disney+ with general entertainment [on Hulu] is a very positive, is a very strong combination,” Iger said. “From a subscriber perspective, from a subscriber acquisition, subscriber retention perspective, and also from an advertiser’s perspective.”
Hulu, unlike Disney+, ended the fiscal period with a gain of 200,000 subscribers to top 48.2 million. Disney+ lost 4 million subs.
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