Nearly two months after The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox, the mass media giant finds itself at the center of another major takeover.
Word has come that Disney and Comcast have come to a deal that will see the former assume full control of the streaming platform Hulu. Under this deal, Comcast has agreed to sell its stake in Hulu to Disney by 2024 at a minimum of $5.8 million. Ironically, Comcast tried to outbid Disney in an attempt to buy 21st Century Fox last May. Disney already owned the majority stake in Hulu post-Fox deal.
However, effective immediately, Disney will assume full operational control of Hulu. The media titan will take the reins from Comcast as the new strategic overseer for the popular streaming service.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal will continue to license content to Hulu until 2024. However, they will have the option to cancel the majority of its licensing agreements with the streaming giant within three years. This comes on the heels of the announcement that Comcast’s NBCUniversal will be launching a streaming service as early as next year.
“We are now able to completely integrate Hulu into our direct-to-consumer business and leverage the full power of The Walt Disney Company’s brands and creative engines to make the service even more compelling and a greater value for consumers,” said Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger in regards to his company’s new pact with Hulu.
With The Walt Disney Company owning the sports-oriented streaming service ESPN Plus and launching its own streaming service Disney Plus in November, Hulu is just the latest streaming service the mass media titan has secured within the past year. Combined with the Disney-Fox merger, Disney is striving to firmly plant its seeds as the world’s top overseer for consumer content.
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