Disney in discussion with AT & T to buy Hulu's 10% stake in WarnerMedia – TechCrunch



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Disney is currently discussing the purchase of AT & T's 10% stake in Hulu, which it will buy through its acquisition of WarnerMedia, according to a Variety report released this morning. The news is not surprising – AT & T had already said it was exploring a sale. And Disney is looking to increase its stake in Hulu following its contract with 20th Century Fox, which, once closed, will see Disney take over the 30% of Fox's stake in Hulu.

Currently, Disney holds a 30% interest in Hulu's streaming service. This means that the Fox Agreement will give him a 60% stake in Hulu. Destroying Hulu's share of AT & T would take Disney's stake to 70%.

Comcast / NBCU is the other big owner of Hulu, but still has no plans to sell, Variety said.

In November, AT & T had detailed its streaming projects for investors, noting at the time that it was considering selling its stake in Hulu as part of its broader goal of "monetizing assets" that would were not essential for his current strategies and to help pay off his debt. Its share in Hulu is valued at $ 930 million.

AT & T is not interested in Hulu because it is developing its own streaming services over the Internet, including the DirecTV Now live TV service; the lightest WatchTV; and a new service that exploits its WarnerMedia properties. WarnerMedia now also operates streaming services for its brands, such as HBO NOW, Boomerang, DC Universe, and so on.

Meanwhile, Disney is preparing to launch its competitor family, Netflix, Disney +, but sees in Hulu a place to house entertainment programs and entertainment for adults.

Hulu now has 25 million subscribers, but remains a smaller player than Netflix because it is not yet available in the world. He also did not invest in original Netflix programming. The increase in Disney property will change these things and could help Hulu compete in the market with larger rivals like Netflix, AT & T / WarnerMedia and soon Apple.

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