Streaming & Disney: What’s Next For Hulu?
The answer might just be: Nothing is happening with Hulu and Disney, in the short run…
There’s been a ton of speculation about Hulu and its place in the grand scheme of The Walt Disney Company.
And, sure, speculation is fun, but it doesn’t mean much until any plans come to fruition. And it seems like we’ll be waiting for a bit – at least until 2024.
Joanna Nelius from Gizmodo (Australia) posted:
…Disney has been focusing more on its own streaming service, Disney+.
But people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Disney evidently has paused Hulu’s international expansion not just because the pandemic wreaked havoc on its theme park and movie studio revenue, but also because the higher Hulu is valued, the more money Disney owes to Comcast. Disney agreed to buy out Comcast’s Hulu shares by 2024 for a minimum of $US5.8 ($8) billion. If Hulu expanded internationally, that would increase its value, and Disney would owe Comcast more money.
That leaves Hulu in a sort of limbo because it offers many Fox films and TV shows, which Disney owns the rights to since its purchase of the studio was finalized back in March of 2019…
However, there is one hope for Hulu to become more relevant in the short run: Disney’s pivot to digital.
Disney is under a lot of pressure from shareholders to make a stronger pivot to streaming, so folding Hulu into Disney+ would likely make more financial sense than trying to expand two separate streaming services internationally. Adding Hulu shows to Disney+, or completely combining the two, would boost Disney’s streaming service numbers dramatically.
But, in the end, it might simply be a waiting game for The Walt Disney Company as they possibly look to wait out 2024.