Disney movies and ABC TV shows will be available on Hulu.com now that Walt Disney Co. is taking an equity stake in the popular video streaming site, joining its founders, NBC Universal and News Corp.
The deal announced Thursday will bring older Disney movies to the site, along with ABC and Disney Channel shows such as “Lost,” ”Grey’s Anatomy” and “Wizards of Waverly Place” after they run on TV. Disney hopes to gain new online viewers that it does not already capture on ABC.com and pick up new income from sharing ad revenue on Hulu.
The new setup also brings the owners of three of the four major broadcast networks – ABC, NBC and Fox – into a fight for online eyeballs against the video streaming site TV.com, which CBS Corp. acquired last year when it bought CNet Networks Inc. for $1.8 billion. In February, Hulu pulled all its content from TV.com.
Another rival is Google Inc.’s YouTube, which is trying to become more than a repository for clips uploaded by the general public. It recently launched a “Shows” section with older movies and TV episodes from partners Sony Corp., Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., CBS Corp., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Liberty Media Corp.
Disney has a deal to provide short-form ESPN and ABC content to YouTube. But in general, ABC, NBC and Fox now will be pitting their premium material against YouTube.
“It’s an extremely big blow to YouTube,” said Gartner Inc. research vice president Allen Weiner.
Hulu ranks as the No. 4 online video site in the U.S., with 41.6 million viewers of its videos in March, according to tracking firm comScore.
That placed it behind Google sites, including YouTube, at 100.3 million; News Corp.’s Fox Interactive Media, which includes MySpace, at 55.2 million; and Yahoo sites at 42.5 million. CBS sites ranked fifth at 35.4 million monthly viewers.
Disney’s biggest contribution to Hulu will be its content, but the comp any will also make a cash investment similar to the amount that General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal and News Corp.’s Fox each contributed in March 2007, according to people knowledgeable about the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were confidential. It is unclear how much Disney paid, but Disney, News Corp. and NBC will all have similar-sized stakes at just over 25 percent.
Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger, Disney/ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney and Kevin Mayer, a Disney senior vice president, will join Hulu’s board. Fox and NBC also have three representatives on the 12-member board.
Disney’s money will fund advertising for Hulu on Disney properties, said one of the people with knowledge of the deal. Fox’s and NBC’s investments went for similar purposes. During the Super Bowl in February on NBC, Hulu paid for an alien-inspired ad starring Alec Baldwin.
In October 2007, Providence Equity Partners invested $100 million for a partial stake that valued Hulu at $1 billion. Hulu employees also own an equity stake. Hulu’s latest valuation after Disney’s investment is unclear.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More