NBCUniversal doesn’t want to be in the Hulu business with Disney, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t want to be in it at all. Speaking on September 14 at the Goldman Sachs + Technology conference, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts suggested that instead of selling their minority stake to Disney in 2024, he’d be open to flipping the script and buying the streaming platform. This will allow the NBCU to integrate Hulu – which has about 50 million users – with the company’s Peacock service. That doesn’t mean he’s coming out and doing a show tomorrow – but Roberts says the quality of the work, along with the brand name Hulu has built over the years – is an attractive combination.
In 2024, Comcast has the right (but not the obligation) to sell the remaining 33% of Hulu to Disney for at least $27.5 billion. Media Play News Reports indicate that Disney CEO Bob Chapek wants to raise the selling window, buying at a lower price. That’s not something that seems likely given Roberts’ new comments.
“I think if Hulu were to go on sale, Comcast would be interested. [in buying it]Roberts said. “And so do a lot of other technology and media companies. You will have a strong auction.”
He added, “Regardless, 100% of Hulu’s value is what we’re entitled to, but if it’s for sale, we certainly are, and I think others will want to take advantage of this opportunity. I think our position [in Hulu] Very enviable for us and our shareholders. As a company, Hulu has done an amazing job.”
Since the NBCU has already started pulling some original content from Hulu and forwarding it to Peacock, it’s not clear how serious any attempt to buy Hulu would be — but sure enough, if it did go on sale, Hulu would be in a better position than anyone except Disney to buy it. After all, having a large ownership stake means that they could, in theory, offer Disney a higher price per share than other bidders, and still pay less in the end.
However, the “100% value” note is probably the main part of the comments. It points out that any deal to make NBCU separate from its stake, must be subject to the terms of the deal it already had with Disney. The company is not Warner Bros. Discovery, after all. They are not so cash poor that they would be willing to make a quick sale to collect quick cash.
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