Google is one of a trio of household names jockeying to take on Hulu. That is if the rumors are to be believed, and that the service is up for sale in the first place. None of which has been confirmed as yet.
Hulu For Sale
News leaked on June 22 that Hulu was potentially up for sale, with its owners News Corp., Walt Disney, Comcast, and Providence Equity seeking a buyer to take on the relatively successful online video service.
At the time those always-fun ‘inside sources’ claimed that the process would begin in two weeks, with interested parties invited to express their interest in bidding in the meantime. That process now seems to have begun, and the companies rumored to be interested in acquiring Hulu include the biggest names possible.
Interested Parties
The three major companies being talked about as ‘interested’ all have different reasons for being so. But all will want to score a victory over the others by nabbing Hulu before the others can.
Google could invigorate Hulu in the same way it did YouTube, plowing cash in and hoping to see a return from advertising in the future. Hulu already has an impressive base of advertising clients, which must make it an attractive acquisition target for Google.
Microsoft seems to be on something of an acquisition spree at present, using its vast pools of money to buy services which could be huge in the future. Microsoft could use view Hulu as an exclusive element to be added to its Xbox 360 console and the Xbox Live service.
Yahoo! has been seeking premium content for the last few months, and video could add to its new strategy of having strong editorial policies which help maintain the interests of readers (and viewers).
Conclusions
This still has to be filed under ‘Rumor’ for now, because without a direct announcement from Hulu or its partners, or one of the supposedly interested parties revealing that negotiations are taking place, we don’t actually know how true any of the news leaking out is.
This could all be conjecture underpinning an effort to raise the number of bidders and the price they’re willing to pay. I personally think Hulu will end up being sold, but to who and for how much is anyone’s guess.
