Disney Officially Buying Complete Control of Hulu

After months of back-and-forth and speculation, Disney Fanatic can report that Disney will officially be purchasing complete control of Hulu. Disney will reportedly have to shell out a minimum of $8.6 billion for the sale. Disney currently owns 67% of the massive streaming service, with the other 33% being owned by Comcast.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, on December 1, Disney will be expected to cut the check for Comcast’s stake. The $8.61 billion is the minimum amount that 33% of Hulu is valued at. Before the sale is complete, Hulu’s value will be appraised to see if Disney will have to pay any more beyond the $8.61 billion.

Upon news of the sale, Disney CEO Bob Iger released a short statement:

“The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives. While the timing of the appraisal process is uncertain, we anticipate it should be completed during the 2024 calendar year.”

Related: Subscribers Enraged as Disney Reminds Them of Streaming Price Hike

The Walt Disney Company and Comcast — which owns NBCUniversal — have been equity partners in Hulu for years. However, in 2019, when Disney bought 20th Century Fox, an agreement was made between Disney and Comcast. The agreement stated that Comcast could sell its stake in Hulu as early as 2024. Disney would be required to buy the rest of the stake in Hulu after an official appraisal was complete.

Disney released the following statement:

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced today that it will acquire the 33% stake in Hulu, LLC held by Comcast Corp.’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) NBC Universal (NBCU), following Comcast’s November 1 exercise of its right under the put/call arrangement between the two companies. The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives.

Under the terms of the put/call arrangement, by December 1, Disney expects it will pay NBCU approximately $8.61 billion, representing NBCU’s percentage of the $27.5 billion guaranteed floor value for Hulu that was set when the companies entered into their agreement in 2019 minus the anticipated outstanding capital call contributions payable by NBCU to Disney. Under the appraisal process agreed to by Disney and Comcast, Hulu’s equity fair value will be assessed as of September 30, 2023, and if the value is ultimately determined to be greater than the guaranteed floor value, Disney will pay NBCU its percentage of the difference between the equity fair value and the guaranteed floor value. While the timing of the appraisal process is uncertain, we anticipate it should be completed during the 2024 calendar year.

During his tenure as Disney CEO, Bob Chapek made it clear that he wanted Disney to own 100% of Hulu. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said that, because Chapek was so obvious about wanting to buy Hulu, it would allow the company (Comcast) to potentially drive up the price.

Disney having complete ownership over Hulu will hopefully only be a positive for the company. In 2022, Hulu generated nearly $11 billion in revenue — an increase of 11% compared to 2021.

Disney launched its own streaming service — Disney+ — in 2019. Unfortunately, the streamer has proven to be nothing but a headache for the House of Mouse. In four years, Disney has lost more than $11 billion, nearly what Hulu made in one year.

Because of this, Disney has made some serious cuts to Disney+ and has purged the streamer of content. In just one year, Disney has canceled a number of Disney+ originals, including National Treasure: Edge of History, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Willow, Doogie Kamealoha MD, and Big Shot. Disney also canceled two series that have been filmed, but never aired. Those were The Spiderwick Chronicles and Nautilus, based on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. 

Related: Willow Star Calls Show’s Disney+ Removal “Embarrassing”

In addition to dealing with the monetary and subscriber losses of Disney+, Bob Iger is also dealing with multiple lawsuits centered around the streaming service. Investors have filed two lawsuits against Bob Chapek, ex-Disney CFO Christine McCarthy, and Kareem Daniel, Chapek’s former right-hand man. Disney has been named in at least one of those lawsuits.

Related: Subscribers Livid as Disney+ Doubles in Price

Investors are claiming that Chapek, McCarthy, and Daniel lied to them about multiple things regarding Disney+. They allege that they were lied to about actual subscriber numbers and how long it would take for Disney+ to become profitable. Chapek was always adamant that Disney+ would be profitable by 2024.

The second lawsuit claims that Chapek, McCarthy, and Daniel conspired to make Disney+ look more successful than it was. Firstly, Chapek is accused of breaking up a deal between TSG Entertainment Finance and 20th Century Fox. The suit alleges that Chapek wanted to use 20th Century Fox to prop up Disney+.

Second, the lawsuit claims that Disney also aired “Disney+ originals” on The Disney Channel to make the show look more popular.

Are you excited to see Disney gain full ownership of Hulu? Let us know in the comments!