Hulu’s owners terminate sale of online site
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Owners of Hulu have taken the pioneering online video site off the market after hoping to fetch $2 billion for the service.
News Corp., the Walt Disney Co. and Providence Equity Partners issued a statement Thursday, saying they decided not to sell Hulu because of its ‘unique and compelling strategic value to its owners.’
Bidding for Hulu had attracted preliminary interest from such notable Internet players as search giant Google Inc. and online media site Yahoo Inc. as well as from traditional television distributors, including satellite TV service Dish Network Inc.
People familiar with the bidding process speculated that the site’s owners had not been able to attract sizable-enough offers to warrant selling the 3-year-old site, which has gained traction with online viewers who come to Hulu to watch current episodes of such popular shows such as ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Glee’ and ‘Parenthood.’
Hulu’s owners positioned the decision differently, saying in joint statement that Hulu has intrinsic value and ‘Our focus now rests solely on ensuring that our efforts as owners contribute in a meaningful way to the exciting future that lies ahead for Hulu.’
Comcast Corp. is also a part owner of Hulu, but as a condition of the government approval of its acquisition of NBCUniversal this year, it surrendered any say in the management or operations of the company.
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— Dawn C. Chmielewski