Hulu – COOPER GENERAL NEWS

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Hulu’s future remains an open question, as Comcast and Disney have still not agreed on terms governing future ownership of the company.

But Comcast executives plan to have Disney buy them out — even though they’d prefer otherwise.

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Disney owns two-thirds of Hulu and has an option to buy the remaining 33% from Comcast as early as January 2024. Some analysts and industry watchers have speculated that Comcast could be looking to buy Hulu from Disney, rather than the other way around. Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts is a long-time believer in Hulu and has pushed in the past to keep the asset rather than sell it, including in 2013 when Roberts paused talks with DirecTV, according to people familiar with the matter .

Comcast raised the idea of buying Hulu outright from Disney after Disney agreed to acquire the majority of Fox’s assets in a $71 billion deal that closed in early 2019, two of the people behind the deal said asked not to be named because the discussions were private. Disney, which was armed after acquiring Fox’s 66% minority stake in Hulu, scrapped the idea, people said.

Comcast was stymied from buying Hulu outright, and Comcast’s continued belief in the deal led to the unusual deal the two companies reached in May 2019. Comcast agreed to sell Disney its minority stake as early as 2024. As part of this transaction, Disney guaranteed a sale price that values Hulu at a minimum of $27.5 billion.

That amount rose sharply early in the pandemic, giving Comcast hope that Disney might choose to offload Hulu rather than pay Comcast a huge check for the remainder, two of the people said. The Hulu spin-off would have allowed Disney to focus its focus and money primarily on Disney+.

“I think if Disney could turn back the clock today, I’m not sure they would make that deal,” said Neil Begley, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Services. “Disney has to pay this huge bill in 2024, at a time when they’re already putting a lot of money into Disney+.”

Disney’s acquisition of Hulu would also accelerate Comcast’s streaming efforts. Hulu would immediately become Comcast’s flagship streaming asset, replacing NBCUniversal’s Peacock, which has added just 13 million paying subscribers in its nearly two years of existence. Hulu has 46.2 million subscribers. Peacock could live on as a free ad-supported option from NBCUniversal. Peacock already has a free tier with millions of users.

Several senior Comcast executives also think that Hulu doesn’t make as much sense in connection with Disney’s assets as it does with NBCUniversal, especially given the recent announcement that Disney+ plans to launch an ad-supported tier in December, according to those familiar with the matter Persons. Hulu has been Disney’s ad-supported service for years. Disney could have positioned Hulu as an advertising medium for the future, but CEO Bob Chapek has chosen to create both commercial and non-commercial versions of Disney+ and Hulu.

Disney and Comcast spokespeople declined to comment.

Bob Chapek, CEO of The Walt Disney Company and former head of Walt Disney Parks and Experiences, speaks during a media preview of the 2019 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California August 22, 2019.

Patrick T Fallon | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Why Disney wants Hulu

Netflix’s slowing growth this year has led to a broader devaluation of the streaming sector. Comcast executives value Hulu “significantly higher” than $27.5 billion and possibly as high as $50 billion, one of the people said. That’s less than about $60 billion during the pandemic, the person said. If Disney sticks with its plan to buy Comcast by January 2024, there’s still time for significant valuation swings.

Disney’s decision to lower Disney+’s 2024 projections and subsequent move to raise prices signaled to Wall Street that Chapek was no longer focused on adding subscribers at any cost.

It’s sent a signal to Comcast that Hulu is likely in Disney’s long-term plans. Excluding Hulu with Live TV, Hulu’s average revenue per user is $12.92 per month. That’s almost triple Disney+’s global ARPU of $4.35 and more than double Disney+’s ARPU in the US and Canada ($6.27).

Disney has built a streaming strategy around bundling Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. While Disney increased the price of Disney+ by 38% and the price of ESPN+ by 43%, it increased its bundled offering of Disney+, Hulu (with ads) and ESPN+ by just $1, from $13.99 to $14. $99. That suggests Disney’s preferred option is for customers to pay for the entire package, including Hulu.

Media and entertainment companies have begun to focus on building profitable subscribers rather than simply adding subscribers in recent months as industry-wide streaming growth has slowed. If Disney doesn’t bank on Disney+’s growth, Hulu will become a more important part of its long-term strategy.

“People are becoming more sensible about their spending,” Kevin Mayer, Disney’s former streaming boss, said on CNBC last month. “Wall Street is once again emphasizing not only topline subscriber count, but bottom line as well. I think that’s healthy.”

Comcast vs Disney

There is also the problem of competitive dynamics. One of the main reasons Disney stuck with Hulu and acquired other Fox assets was to keep them off Comcast, according to people familiar with the matter. Handing Hulu over to Comcast would shift the balance of power in the media world and weaken Disney, thought then-CEO Bob Iger, People said.

Comcast has already taken steps to weaken Hulu on the assumption Disney will keep it. Earlier this year, Comcast made the decision to remove content like “Saturday Night Live” and “The Voice” from the streaming service and put it on Peacock instead. This change will take place later this month.

Comcast has already earmarked a portion of the proceeds to pay down debt. Comcast executives say they don’t need the money and aren’t independently trying to accelerate a schedule, two of the people said.

And Loeb’s desire

Daniel Loeb

Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Activist investor Dan Loeb’s Third Point Capital bought a new stake in Disney last month, arguing that Disney should not only finalize its deal for Hulu but also speed up its timing.

“We urge the company to make every attempt to acquire Comcast’s remaining minority interest before the contract expires in early 2024,” Loeb said in a letter to Chapek. “We believe it would be wise for Disney to even pay a modest premium to expedite the integration, however we recognize that the seller may have an inappropriate price expectation at this point (noting that the seller already has the made the decision to prematurely remove its own content from the platform.) We know this is a priority for you and hope to reach an agreement before Comcast is contractually committed to this in approximately 18 months.”

According to people familiar with the matter, Disney has not publicly addressed the specifics of Loeb’s inquiries and has not made a decision on whether it plans to accelerate its timeline to purchase Comcast’s stake in Hulu.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC.

WATCH: Disney membership is a work in progress and could offer exclusive content or experiences

New to Disney +

“The Muppet Show” seasons 1-5

Start streaming: 19th of February

Fans of puppeteer and filmmaker Jim Henson have waited a while for his TV series, “The Muppet Show,” – perhaps his most enduring masterpiece – to hit a subscription streaming service. For five seasons and 120 episodes between 1976 and 1981, Henson and his team of writers, craftsmen and performers brought joy and humor to the small screen by imagining a low-rent variety show directed by high-profile madmen. From its catchy songs to a number of A-list guest hosts (including pretty much every well-known entertainer of the era), The Muppet Show helped define popular culture of the day while remaining family-friendly. The full series has never been released in a home video format and is not currently aired on any US cable network. Hence, this addition to Disney + is an important event.

Also arriving:

19th of February

“Flora & Ulysses”

February 26th

“Myth: A Frozen Story”

New to Amazon

‘Bliss’

Start streaming: February 5th

In his films “Another Earth” and “I Origins”, writer and director Mike Cahill thought about subdued character studies that circumvent the boundaries of science fiction, about big ideas – alternative universes, the existence of God. In his latest film, Bliss, Owen Wilson plays Greg, a grumpy divorce officer who is in the middle of one of the worst days of his life when he meets Isabel (Salma Hayek), a homeless eccentric who convinces him they are alive Computer simulation controlled with the help of special crystals. Is she right, or are Greg and Isabel both mentally ill drug addicts? Cahill leaves this question unanswered for as long as possible while both scenarios seem plausible. The result is an odd journey through multiple realities that moves faster than Cahill’s previous films, but ultimately still deals with the existential fear of ordinary people.

‘Tell me your secrets’

Start streaming: 19th of February

The secrets in the title of the mystery / suspense series “Tell Me Your Secrets” are buried deep and are slowly being discovered over the course of the first season of the series with 10 episodes. Across several interwoven storylines, creator Harriet Warner follows three main characters: a hidden woman (Lily Rabe), a mother (Amy Brenneman) who is stubbornly struggling to find out what happened to her long-missing daughter, and an offer from a psychopath (Hamish Linklater) his help with law enforcement to atone for old crimes. The sometimes surprising and often grim details of the connections between these people and the mistakes they seek to make up to advance the narrative of a crime show how difficult it is for victims of violence and trauma to get on with their lives.

Also arriving:

February 12th

“The Hunter’s Anthology”

“The map of tiny perfect things”

19th of February

“The boarding school: Las Cumbres”

New to Hulu

“Nomadland”

Start streaming: 19th of February

Slice-of-life drama Nomadland, which is likely to be a strong contender for the Academy Awards this year, is a vibrant and emotional portrayal of a growing American subculture: people who live in mobile homes and roam the country and working in succession from seasonal jobs. Frances McDormand plays a young widow who has spent most of her life in a closed factory and is now getting used to living on the street, with the help of some fellow travelers who have turned their circumstances from paycheck to paycheck into a quasi- communal lifestyle. The author and director Chloé Zhao, who easily adapts the non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder, avoids major confrontations and serious conspiracies and instead emphasizes the everyday stress and the unexpected wonders of a life on the edge.

“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”

Start streaming: February 26th

The source material for the historical drama “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” distinguishes it from a typical biopic. Instead of covering a person’s entire life, director Lee Daniels and screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks adapted passages from Johann Hari’s exposé “Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs,” in which the author uses profiles of some noted addicts including Billie Holiday and traffickers for criticizing the way some governments have approached drug trafficking. Grammy-nominated R&B singer Andra Day gives an exciting performance as jazz legend Holiday, who scandalized the establishment with the anti-lynch song “Strange Fruit” that – according to this raw and hard hitting film – some reactionaries in the US government conspired to use their drug habit to smother them.

Also arriving:

February 1st

“Owner”

February 12th

“Into the Dark: Tentacles”

13th February

“Hip Hop Uncovered”

February 25

“Snowfall” Season 4

New at HBO max

‘The investigation’

Start streaming: February 1st

The accomplished Danish screenwriter and director Tobias Lindholm explores what happened after the dismembered body of Swedish journalist Kim Wall was found scattered in Koge Bay, Denmark in 2017 in The Investigation, a six-part miniseries Lindholm dramatizes the incident itself not, which ultimately led to the arrest and conviction of entrepreneur Peter Madsen, who invited Wall to interview him shortly before they disappeared on his submarine. Instead, he follows the two cops in the case (played by Soren Malling and Pilou Asbaek) as they tenaciously pursue the gruesome leads and sacrifice their personal lives in the name of justice. “The Investigation” is another type of procedure that details how difficult it is for the victim’s family and detectives to create a case.

“Earwig and the Witch”

Start streaming: February 5th

With this adaptation of a novel by Diana Wynne Jones, whose book “Howl’s Moving Castle” was previously adapted by Ghibli’s co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, the animators at the venerable Japanese studio Ghibli are making their first foray into full computer animation. Son Goro directed Earwig and the Witch, the story of a courageous and bossy 10 year old orphan who was adopted by a pair of curious gruff adults who teach her about the rock and roll and occult history of their birth family. Fans of the Miyazakis and Ghibli may initially resist the look of this film, which differs from classics like “Spirited Away” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service”. But “Earwig” deals with similar subjects like spiritual wonder and youthful independence, and there is something special about Goro Miyazaki’s visual style that is much simpler than Pixar’s fine detail.

“Judas and the Black Messiah”

Start streaming: February 12th

In 1969, Fred Hampton – the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party – was killed in a police raid of his Chicago home after an extensive federal law enforcement campaign to identify him as a dangerous radical. In the political drama “Judas and the Black Messiah” Daniel Kaluuya gives an outstanding performance as Hampton and is compared scene by scene with Lakeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, a petty crook recruited by the FBI. Writer-director Shaka King and co-writer Will Berson capture the revolutionary passion of the time and subtly refer to the parallels to this day in the angry arguments about overzealous police officers and systemic racism. The film focuses on Hampton’s complex, passionate, and surprisingly openly armed political philosophies, as well as the circumstances that would have compelled a man who would otherwise have been a devout student to betray him.

Also arriving:

February 2nd

“Fake Famous”

February 4th

“Esme & Roy”

“The head”

February 18

“It’s a sin”

February 22

“Beartown”

February 26th

“Tom Jerry”