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AT & T Inc. sold its minority stake in Hulu to the company under a contract evaluating the streaming video site at about $ 15 billion, a net increase over there is more two years.
Hulu, now owned by two major media companies, is attempting to create a service that can compete with Netflix Inc. and other streaming services that compete for the attention of viewers.
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AT & T inherited its stake in the acquisition of Time Warner Inc. and announced plans to sell its position to focus on its own streaming service, which it plans to launch this year. AT & T announced Monday it sold 9.5% stake for $ 1.43 billion.
The valuation represents a significant jump from the $ 5.8 billion Hulu earned when Time Warner bought the stake in 2016, but is still outnumbered by Netflix, whose market capitalization is around $ 150 billion. Hulu added new subscribers quickly and finished the year 2018 with more than 25 million, while Netflix reached 139 million.
Hulu is managed by Walt Disney Co., which holds a stake of approximately 60% after acquiring shares held by 21st Century Fox Inc. as well as other television and film assets. Comcast Corp. holds a 30% interest in the company.
Disney and Comcast will have to negotiate the sharing of the 9.5% stake acquired by the joint venture, a spokeswoman for Hulu said.
AT & T has announced to investors that it will reduce its debt after spending more than $ 80 billion to acquire Time Warner, a transaction leaving the mobile carrier and the pay-TV distributor with a net debt of more than $ 170 billion at the end of 2018. The Dallas company is a direct competitor to Disney and reinforces its rivalry with Comcast, which owns the NBCUniversal media giant.
AT & T's WarnerMedia, as it is now known as the Film and Television Unit, is developing a new video-on-demand service similar to Hulu's, to offer new titles like "Aquaman" and popular rebroadcasts such as "Friends".
Executives did not disclose the product's name or cost, although the plans include a three-tier service built around WarnerMedia's HBO television series, with the addition of content from Warner Bros. Studios. and its cable TV brands. The untitled service should be launched at the end of this year.
Disney unveiled last week's Disney +, another subscription service designed to contain content from the Star Wars franchise, Marvel movies and classic animated films.
But the company Mickey Mouse plans to offer a more mature programming via Hulu while focusing its sports assets on ESPN +.
It is unclear how the new property will affect what is indicated by Hulu in his library.
WarnerMedia executives stated that the company would not make all of its content exclusive and surrender license fees opportunistically.
In a statement released on Monday, Hulu CEO Randy Freer said: "WarnerMedia will remain a valuable partner for Hulu for years to come, as we offer our customers the best of live, on-demand television. , at the same place."
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In January, Hulu lowered the price of its base package, allowing users to run TV shows with ads without including live sports information. It has also increased the cost of its live television offering, joining a trend that has raised the price of traditional channels in the media industry.
The basic package now costs USD 6 per month, while Hulu + Live TV costs USD 45 per month.
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