Were you hoping to buy Hulu and had a spare $2 billion plus lying around the house not doing anything? Then your luck is out, as Hulu’s owners have decided to hold on to the online video service. At least for the time being.
Hulu For Sale
Hulu was put up for sale at the end of June after its owners, Disney, News Corps., Comcast, and Providence decided now might be the perfect time to cash out their chips. Why? And why now? No one really seems sure, but it has been suggested there was a desire to nab a new owner now who could then be rinsed in a couple of years when it came time to reach an agreement on licensing content.
The number of bidders was cut down until eventually just two serious contenders remained in the game. Dish Networks with a bid of $1.9 billion and the terms in place, and Google with a bid of $4 billion for something different than the current owners had in mind.
In the end neither was deemed good enough.
Hulu Not For Sale
Lo and behold Hulu is no longer for sale. The company’s owners decided to “terminate the sale process,” and issued the following statement:
Since Hulu holds a unique and compelling strategic value to each of its owners, we have terminated the sale process and look forward to working together to continue mapping out its path to even greater success. Our focus now rests solely on ensuring that our efforts as owners contribute in a meaningful way to the exciting future that lies ahead for Hulu.
You have to assume this decision was taken purely because the bids coming in weren’t high enough. If someone had offered double the asking price and accepted the terms of the deal then Hulu would surely have changed hands by now.
Having received only mild interest Disney etc. have clearly decided to scrub the plan to sell and instead make the most of the opportunity they have. And recent it’s become clearer than ever over the past few months that Hulu isn’t exactly a lame duck.
Conclusions
I suspect Hulu will continue on its current form for the time being, with more content added, and more Hulu Plus subscribers sought. But I have a feeling this isn’t the last we’ll hear of Hulu being up for sale. Perhaps in a couple of years’ time when the licensing agreements are up for renewal.
