Disney Acquires Popular Streaming Service for $439 Million

Disney is set to take full control of Hulu, one of the popular streaming services out there. They’ve agreed to pay nearly $439 million to Comcast’s NBCUniversal for their stake in Hulu, sealing the deal on a long appraisal process that’s been going on for a while now.

This whole thing started back in November 2023, when Disney announced that they were acquiring a 33% stake in Hulu from Comcast for at least $8.6 billion. This amount was based on Hulu’s guaranteed floor value of $27.5 billion. Since 2019, Disney has been running Hulu, with Comcast stepping back and becoming more of a behind-the-scenes partner.

Hulu first launched back in 2007, aiming to provide TV shows online with the backing of big entertainment companies. Disney got involved in 2009, planning to bring shows from ABC, ESPN, and the Disney Channel to the platform. Fast forward to today, after Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, and they now have the majority control of Hulu.

After some back and forth with appraisers, it was determined that Disney would pay $438.7 million for NBCUniversal’s stake in Hulu. Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, expressed his relief that this process is finally coming to an end, saying that it opens up possibilities for a more integrated entertainment experience for consumers between Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN’s streaming services.

The deal is expected to be finalized by July 24 and is not anticipated to have any impact on Disney’s earnings forecast for the year. In further news, Disney’s stock saw a slight increase in morning trading following the announcement.

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