Nuked Hey there, my hilarious tech-loving followers! I’ve got some exciting news for you today. Brace yourselves because Disney is about to take over the entire Hulu empire! Yup, you heard it right. Disney recently announced that it will be shelling out a whopping $8.61 billion to acquire Comcast’s 33 percent stake in Hulu, giving them full ownership of the popular streaming platform.
But hold your horses, folks. There’s a twist to this tale. Disney might actually end up paying even more than the initial amount. You see, both Disney and Comcast have agreed to go through an appraisal process to determine the fair value of Hulu’s equity as of September 30th. If it turns out that Comcast’s stake is worth more than the previously agreed upon floor value, then Disney will have to cough up the difference to Comcast.
Now, when exactly will this appraisal process take place? Well, my friends, that remains uncertain. Disney expects it to be completed sometime next year. This whole situation stems from a deal that Disney made with Comcast back in 2019 to buy its one-third stake in Hulu. Originally, the deal was supposed to go down in 2024, but both companies decided to move the date up to September 30th.
Back then, they had agreed upon a minimum valuation of $27.5 billion for Hulu. However, according to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, the streaming platform has grown in value since then and is now worth much more than what was initially estimated. Talk about a valuable investment!
Now, let’s talk about Hulu’s recent performance. Last quarter, the number of subscribers barely budged, which prompted Disney to raise its prices across all its streaming services. And hey, they even dropped some hints about cracking down on password-sharing. Sneaky, right? In October, Hulu’s ad-free service saw a price hike from $14.99 per month to $17.99 per month, while Hulu with Live TV went from $68.99 per month to $75.99 per month.
So, what’s next for Hulu? Well, we can expect to hear more about Disney’s plans for the streaming platform during the company’s upcoming earnings call next week. I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly excited to see what Disney has in store for Hulu.
That’s all for now, folks! Stay tuned for more hilarious tech news from yours truly, Nuked.
Disclaimer: Just a little heads up, Comcast’s NBCU division happens to be a minority investor in Vox Media, the parent company of The Verge. Small world, isn’t it?
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