In more company consolidation news, Disney announced that it will take the rest of Hulu off Comcast’s plate. They will be purchasing the 33 percent that Comcast held. This will cost them around $8.61 billion. This, however, isn’t the final number as that will be determined after some additional number crunching finishes up next year.
The New York Times points out that Comcast could force Disney to buy the whole thing or Disney to make Comcast sell it. Looks like Comcast blinked first and told the House of Mouse that they weren’t waiting any longer.
The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives.”
Statement in Disney announcement
Earlier in the year Disney stated that they were going to create a “one-app experience” by combining Disney+ and Hulu content. They were going to do that by the end of 2023. They never really said how they were going to do that seeing as Comcast still owned their share. While it doesn’t mean the end of the Hulu app, Hulu’s content would probably be on the new app as well.
Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, stated that this combined app was great for the company. It was a “logical progression” of what they could offer directly to the consumer. Of course, he also stated that it would “provide greater opportunities for advertisers”.
As someone who pays for Hulu and Disney+ in a bundle through Verizon, I had a feeling this was going to be inevitable. I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take before we got here, but it seems like it’s now closer than ever. I find it odd that a lot of people who are generating content still focus on ads instead of their content.
Then again, our personal data is our most valuable resource. Companies will continue to mine it for their personal gain while we all pay the cost.
