Disney Announces Plans to Buy Out Hulu from Comcast

The Walt Disney Company announced that the company will be acquiring the remaining 33 percent stake in Hulu which is currently owned by Comcast's NBC Universal (NBCU).

Disney Aims to Expand Streaming Objectives With Hulu Acquisition

In an official announcement, the company shared that the acquisition of the remaining Hulu stake will "further Disney's streaming objectives." The remaining one-third of the shares is estimated to cost $8.61 billion. This represents the NBCU's percentage of the $27.5 billion guaranteed floor value for Hulu upon the 2019 agreement.

"If the value is ultimately determined to be greater than the guaranteed floor value, Disney will pay NBCU its percentage of the difference between the equity fair value and the guaranteed floor value," Disney announced. However, the appraisal process will take a long time with the completion expected to close in 2024.

In a statement last September, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is confident that Hulu is way more valuable today than it was five years ago. In the same month, a Wells Fargo analyst valued Hulu at $30 billion, as per Bloomberg.

Streaming Landscape Remains Challenged Despite Growth

Although streaming platforms have been growing and overshadowing traditional television, it still not without any challenges. For instance, many companies have transitioned to streaming services making the market more saturated every year.

In addition, streaming companies such as Disney+ and Netflix have been implementing password crackdowns due to the revenue decrease from the previous years. Moreover, streaming platforms have been releasing ad tiers and price hikes in order to increase the companies' revenues.

Not much detail has been revealed as to how Hulu will change once the acquisition is done. However, since Disney already owned the majority of it, there might not be overwhelming changes. Disney+ and Hulu bundle subscribers might benefit the most from the acquisition while the NBCU content in Hulu might get affected.