By Gavin Boyle
Disney bought the last outstanding stake in Hulu it did not own; here’s what changes might come to the platform now that the company is in full control.
“We are pleased this is finally resolved,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger after his company paid NBCUniversal $438.7 million for its 33% stake in Hulu. “We have had a productive partnership with NBCUniversal, and we wish them the best of luck. Completing the Hulu acquisition paves the way for a deeper and more seamless integration of Hulu’s general entertainment content with Disney+ and, soon, with ESPN’s direct-to-consumer product, providing an unrivaled value proposition for consumers.”
“Hulu was a great start for us in streaming that generated nearly $10 billion in proceeds for Comcast and created an important audience for NBCUniversal’s world-class content,” added NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast, in a statement to Deadline. “We wish Disney well with Hulu and appreciate the cooperative way our teams managed the partnership.”
With Disney now able to do what it wants with the platform, users will likely see multiple changes come their way. Most notably, perhaps, is the opportunity for Disney to merge all of its streamers onto one platform, combining Hulu, Disney+ and the soon-to-be-launched ESPN+. In March 2024, Disney took the first step in this direction when it made Hulu content available on Disney+ for subscribers to both services.
“[The bundle’s] whole goal is to make happier subscribers and healthier subscribers, provide them convenience, deeper engagement, better retention and increase the value of the Disney bundle for our subscribers,” said Joe Earley, President of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment.
Related: Disney+ Hulu Combined App Projected to Outrank Netflix, Report Claims
In 2023, analysts predicted that a combined Disney+ and Hulu platform would be more popular than Netflix. Adding ESPN+ into the mix would make it even more lucrative as an even wider audience base would be served.
“The combined Disney+ and Hulu catalogue will provide one of the most well-rounded and popular offerings in a single platform, upping the content stakes at a time when many are pulling back on content investment,” Ampere analyst Joshua Rustage explained in December 2023.
To help serve Disney’s goal of creating one mega-streaming platform, Hulu will likely begin to be featured in more streaming bundles in the future, making it more affordable for subscribers. Subscribers are also likely to begin seeing more Hulu original content as the platform will have less of an incentive to license shows and movies from NBCUniversal.
Disney’s full acquisition of Hulu may mark a new era in the company’s streaming life as it offers more freedom to do what it wants with one of the largest platforms in the world.
Read Next: Hulu’s Content Now on Disney+: What You Need to Know
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