For almost $8.6 billion, Walt Disney Co. announced that it will purchase a 33% share in Hulu from Comcast, giving Disney complete control over the streaming service. Since Comcast gave over control of Hulu in 2019 and essentially became a silent partner, Disney has been in actual control of the streaming service.
Disney just stated that the acquisition will “further Disney’s streaming objectives” without providing any more information.
Founded in 2007, Hulu swiftly developed into a service supported by media companies looking to use the internet as a platform for their own TV series online. Disney joined in 2009 with the intention of providing programming from ESPN, ABC, and the Disney Channel. After ten years, Disney bought 21st Century Fox to take over the company in its entirety.
More recently, Disney has pledged to launch its own crackdown on non-paying customers and increased pricing for ad-free versions of Disney and Hulu by 20% to 27% in response to mounting pressure on streaming services brought on by unrestricted expansion, low costs, and widespread password sharing. In August, CEO Bob Iger stated that the purpose of the price hikes was to push viewers into the less expensive, ad-supported versions of those channels, whose membership costs remained the same.
Iger stated at the time that the streaming advertising business is “picking up” and that it is more beneficial than traditional TV advertising. “It’s clear that we’re attempting to move more subscribers to the advertising supported tier through our pricing strategy.”
