Tech Biz: Disney in Control of Hulu Buys Out AT&T for $1.4 B UPDATE: Disney owns it ALL!

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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hulu-now-majority-controlled-disney-212245301.html

(Bloomberg) -- And then there were two.

Hulu LLC, an online-streaming venture backed by the biggest companies in entertainment, bought out AT&T Inc.’s 9.5 percent stake in a deal worth about $1.43 billion. The accord, which values the whole entity at $15 billion, leaves the business with just a pair of owners: Walt Disney Co., which has majority control, and Comcast Corp.

Hulu, based in Los Angeles, was previously co-owned by the quartet of Disney, 21st Century Fox Inc., Comcast and AT&T. When Disney spent $71 billion to acquire Fox’s entertainment businesses in March, it gained majority control. Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger has said he may be interested in acquiring the rest.

The venture was conceived as a way for traditional media companies to bet on the burgeoning streaming market. But it’s been a costly endeavor. Hulu is projected to lose $1.5 billion this year, and Disney doesn’t expect it to be profitable until fiscal 2023 or 2024. The goal is to have 40 million to 60 million subscribers by then.

Disney and Comcast -- the remaining owners -- will now have to decide how they want to account for the AT&T transaction, according to a Hulu spokeswoman. The two parties have time to figure out how they want to apportion that 9.5 percent stake.

AT&T Debt

AT&T acquired the Hulu stake last year when it completed another megadeal: its $85 billion takeover of Time Warner Inc. The Time Warner business, now called WarnerMedia, will continue to supply programming to Hulu. AT&T plans to use the proceeds from the Hulu sale to chip away at its heavy debt load.

“We thank AT&T for their support and investment over the past two years and look forward to collaboration in the future,” Hulu CEO Randy Freer said in Monday’s statement. “WarnerMedia will remain a valued partner to Hulu for years to come as we offer customers the best of TV, live and on demand, all in one place.”

Disney said last week that a Hulu price cut -- which lowered the cost of its entry-level, ad-supported version by 25 percent to $6 a month -- helped bring a surge of customers. The company also is considering an international rollout for Hulu.

Disney’s push into streaming includes two other products: ESPN+, which focuses on sports, and Disney+, a kid-friendly service due in November.

(Updates with forecasts in fourth paragraph paragraph.)

--With assistance from Rob Golum and Lucas Shaw.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Turner in Los Angeles at nturner7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net
 
https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/15/18312068/disney-hulu-att-sells-stake-comcast-control-streaming

AT&T may have just signaled the end of Hulu as you know it today
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AT&T just sold its stake, leaving Disney with overwhelming control
By Chaim Gartenberg@cgartenberg Apr 15, 2019, 5:55pm EDTSHARE
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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Hulu might look very different a year from now. AT&T has sold its roughly 10 percent stake in Hulu back to the streaming service today for $1.43 billion dollars, making it that much more likely that Hulu will become a Disney-centric service in the future.

Just last year, Hulu was still divided evenly between Disney, Fox, and Comcast — each owning a 30 percent cut of the company — alongside AT&T’s roughly 10 percent stake. But Disney gained a controlling interest in Hulu when it bought Fox, and the AT&T sale means Disney now owns a staggering 66 percent of the service, with Comcast owning the remaining 33 percent.

a radical shift in what Hulu even is. Right now, the service offers streaming content from a huge range of providers, including Comcast-owned NBC and Universal, and AT&T-owned networks like TBS and TNT.

Now that AT&T no longer has skin in the game, it’s easy to imagine a future where the company pulls its shows entirely in favor of its own streaming efforts. (AT&T now has its own video empire after purchasing Time Warner, after all.) And if Comcast follows suit, it could leave Hulu as an exclusively Disney service that compliments the upcoming $7-a-month Disney+. Disney has even hinted as much, with the company highlighting in the past few days the different roles it intends for Hulu and Disney+, with Hulu offering more mature content, and even the potential for a joint bundle. (Perhaps AT&T saw the writing on the wall when Disney assumed control.)

While that’s good for Disney, it’s a decidedly less appealing future for consumers, who could see one of the last streaming services to offer cross-network content get fractured into even more monthly fees to watch all your shows.
 
Fuck The Mouse! I hate Disney. I don’t have children nor a family, so I have no interest in good, clean, wholesome, family centered programming. I want my programming riggidy-raw! The Mouse is always ruining shit with his endless supply of cheese. Fuck that Mouse! :angry: No disrespect @playahaitian just venting.

understand...
 
What does this all mean?

It means whatever legislation that America has on the books against corporate monopolies, is completely full of shit. And on that same token, for those thinking we can just pirate shit and avoid the Streaming Wars, that's why the government has stepped up efforts to shut down popular streaming and torrent sites. When a small group of corporations run shit, sets prices to gouge the consumer, and employs the government to stamp out the competition, I'm not sure of the term but it damn sure ain't democracy.
 
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