All of those recent rumors of a Hulu buyout have been put to rest today as co-owners 21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal and The Walt Disney Company have decided they no longer wish to part ways with the video streaming service.
In a press release on the matter, 21st Century Fox COO Chase Carey said the company had meaningful conversations with a number of potential partners and buyers, each with impressive plans and offers to match. But at the end of the day, the trio will maintain their current ownership positions and inject another $750 million in cash into Hulu in an effort to propel future growth. They believe the best path forward for Hulu is a meaningful recapitalization to accelerate growth under the current ownership structure.
Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company Robert A. Iger echoed those sentiments, further pointing out that Hulu has emerged as one of the most consumer friendly and technologically innovative viewing platforms in the digital era.
Hulu launched in 2008 and is now one of the leading aggregators of media on the web. The service currently offers content from more than 400 partners and enjoys over 30 million monthly unique visitors.
In recent months, we've heard rumors that DirecTV and Yahoo were both interested in acquiring Hulu. Marissa Mayer and company reportedly offered $800 million for the platform following their failed acquisition of video streaming site DailyMotion. Both companies also toyed with the idea of purchasing Hulu when it was being shopped around back in 2011.