Disney CEO Bob Iger has said he is open to selling streaming platform Hulu. The statement was made when Iger was questioned by broadcaster CNBC about his plans for Hulu in 2024.
“It’s all on the table right now, so I’m not going to speculate whether we’re buyers or sellers of it. But I’ve obviously hinted that I’m concerned about general undifferentiated entertainment, particularly in the competitive landscape that we’re operating in and will look into that in very objective and expansive way.” he said.
Disney isn’t the only owner of Hulu. The telecommunications corporate group Comcast, owner of NBCUniversal, owns 30% of the company and has a contractual obligation to negotiate its stake with Disney in 2024. With this in mind, host David Faber asked Iger if Disney would buy Comcast’s side or if it would be interested in selling its stake to the rival company. And he just said, “We’ll be open-minded.”
Faber noted that the current assumption was that Disney would buy the rest of Hulu rather than sell. “And I guess I’m suggesting that’s not necessarily the case,” Iger said.
The market value of Hulu will be evaluated by independent experts, but Disney has ensured that its stake is worth at least $27.5 billion. And that’s what makes the ability to sell so attractive to Iger. After all, right now Disney is more interested in saving than spending.
But there are no small details to consider: Hulu has more viewership than Disney+ in the US and the platform’s programming is integrated with Disney+ in Europe.
On the other hand, Comcast is struggling to get its own streaming platform, Peacock, which hasn’t launched outside the United States.
On Wednesday (8/2), Iger unveiled a major restructuring of the company, which includes 7,000 layoffs and cost reductions of $5.5 billion. Like other companies, Disney is struggling with low streaming performance as linear television declines.
In Brazil, Hulu content is available on the Star+ streaming platform.
Source: Terra
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