Disney is buying Comcast’s stake in Hulu, giving it full control of the service with immediate effect, although the actual purchase doesn’t complete until 2024 …
It follows Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox back in March. Disney started with a 30% stake in Hulu, with the Fox purchase giving another 30%. It later bought AT&T’s 10%, so Comcast’s 30% will give Disney full ownership.
Axios reports on today’s development.
The deal is obviously good news for Disney, allowing it to create Disney+ bundles that include Hulu as well as ESPN+.
The deal means that Disney will become the full owner of Hulu. The entertainment giant will gain full operational control of the streaming service immediately.
Per the agreement, Comcast can sell the company at a valuation of either $27.5 billion or whatever Hulu is worth in next five years. Disney says it will pay for all of Hulu’s content in the interim.
But it’s also a good deal for Comcast. As The Verge notes, it now gets the best of both worlds for NBC shows.
Comcast also can’t lose out financially. The deal locks in a guaranteed minimum payment which reflects today’s value, but if Disney’s ownership boosts the value of Hulu – as seems likely – Comcast instead gets the 2024 value of its stake.
Additionally, Comcast gets the chance to put shows on its own upcoming streaming service that are currently licensed exclusively to Hulu starting in one year, in exchange for reducing Hulu’s license fee for that content.
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