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    Disney takes over Hulu

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments2126 Views
    This June 27, 2015, file photo, shows the Hulu logo on a window at the Milk Studios space in New York. (AP Photo/Dan Goodman, File)

    By Tali Arbel, Technology Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Disney cut a deal with Comcast to take full control of Hulu as each prepares to launch its own streaming service.

    The companies said Tuesday that Comcast, which owns a third of Hulu, may sell its stake starting in 2024 for a minimum of $5.8 billion. Either company can require the other to make the deal.

    Hulu launched more than a decade ago as the major entertainment companies dealt with the rise of digital media. Its owners have contracted as a wave of mergers consolidated the industry: The Walt Disney Co. absorbed 21st Century Fox's stake as it bought up Fox's studio and many of its networks, while AT&T sold off the share it inherited with the purchase of Time Warner, now renamed WarnerMedia.

    AT&T's sale valued the unprofitable Hulu at $15 billion. The agreement with Disney and Comcast values Hulu at a minimum of $27.5 billion in 2024. Disney has forecast that Hulu will turn a profit around then.

    Hulu today still shows network TV episodes and original series for $6 a month. It has a newer live-TV service that costs $45 a month.

    Having total control of Hulu gives Disney more power to support its own streaming efforts. The company is launching a new kids-focused streaming service called Disney Plus this year, and is likely to bundle that with Hulu and its sports service, ESPN Plus.

    Comcast's NBCUniversal, meanwhile, will debut a streaming service in 2020. And WarnerMedia is launching its own streaming service which will focus on HBO and other shows and movies owned by the company. There's also a new one from Apple, with original content.

    An aftereffect of all these new services may well be the fragmentation of content across services. Most of the most popular shows on Netflix are owned by the big entertainment companies — "Friends," ''The Office" — which may well want them for their own services.

    At least for Hulu, NBCUniversal has agreed to keep its shows and networks on there until late 2024.

    However, NBCUniversal is preparing to stock its own service as the streaming wars heat up. In a year, it can start putting its video on its own streaming service that is currently exclusive on Hulu. (It'll cut Hulu's costs in return.) And NBCUniversal could choose to pull its content from Hulu early, in three years.

    Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

    Tags:DisneyHulu



    Football Practice Preps Nikki Glaser For Hosting The Golden Globes

    Thursday, December 26, 2024
    Nikki Glaser stands on the field after NFL football game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

    What do Tom Brady, Taylor Swift and comedy have to do with learning about football?

    In the case of Nikki Glaser, it is all intertwined.

    Glaser has become a familiar face to football fans this season. Her breakthrough performance at the Tom Brady Roast on May 5 paved the way for five appearances on Amazon Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" postgame show.

    Before last Thursday's game between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers, Glaser said doing her "Late Hits" segment was a no-brainer following her success at the Brady roast.

    "The football audience is kind of familiar with me already. It's one that is OK with me not knowing every detail about football or expecting me to be an expert about it because I was who I was on the Brady Roast. I kind of admitted to not really following football that much," Glaser said. "And I became a fan of Tom Brady and the sport in doing it through that process. So then I was like, 'Let me just keep learning about football through joking about it.' And that was kind of my goal."

    Glaser admits her knowledge of football is not all the way there yet. Still, it is further ahead than it was a year ago when she started casually watching Chiefs games due to Swift's relationship with Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.

    And mostly then, it was to see when Swift appeared on screen.

    However, Glaser decided to start learning more about the game, which she compared to trying to learn a new language.

    "I went my whole life putting on blinders because I was just scared to look stupid if I tried to learn. I always thought football fans would be really judgmental and cruel about my lack of knowledge. But they're not," Glaser said. "They're eager for you to understand and... Read More

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