The Walt Disney Company has made an announcement on Wednesday, confirming its purchase of Comcast’s $8.6 billion stake in Hulu, marking the final step in its acquisition of the streaming service.
This move is seen as a strategic step to further Disney’s objectives in the streaming industry, particularly as it aims to increase its subscriber base for Disney+, its own streaming platform.
According to Disney, this acquisition values Hulu at a total of $27.5 billion, and the transaction is expected to be completed by December 1.
In 2019, Disney initially reached a deal with Comcast to acquire a majority stake in Hulu, which left Comcast with a 33% stake in the service. The agreement stipulated that Disney had the option to buy this stake as early as January 2024 or sell it for the fair market value at that time.
Disney, based in California, already offers Hulu as part of bundled packages along with its Disney+ and ESPN+ platforms. The Walt Disney Company
The company will release its latest quarterly earnings next week, providing a look at how its cable and streaming television services are doing in the fiercely competitive market.
Disney in August reported that Disney+ lost more than 10 million subscribers in the recently ended quarter, in large part due to the Indian market.
Disney+ finished the second three months of this year with 146.1 million subscribers, compared with just shy of 158 million in the prior quarter, the group said.
Disney rival Netflix last month said subscriber numbers grew nearly 11 percent to 247 million in the recently ended quarter as it cracked down on password sharing and refined an ad-supported tier.
The leading streaming service increased prices on some of its plans, perhaps creating an opportunity for competitors such as Disney.
Netflix said in an earnings report that its nascent ad-supported offering was gaining traction, and the coming Disney earnings should provide insight into whether the same is true for its ad-supported tier.
Meanwhile, film and television makers see productions halted by the Screen Actors Guild strike, meaning a potential lack of fresh content needed to attract and keep streaming service subscribers.