Comcast hands over full control of Hulu to Disney

[Polycount]

What just happened? Disney has been working to fully acquire popular video streaming service Hulu for some time now. According to reports, that process will finally be complete soon - Comcast has agreed to sell its "ownership stake" in Hulu to Disney sometime after 2024. The precise amount of money that will eventually be changing hands is unknown, but it will reportedly be a minimum of $5.8 billion.

Though the sale itself won't occur for quite a while, CNN claims Disney will take "full operational control" of Hulu immediately. This decision may come as a surprise to some, given Disney's plans to create its own streaming service (Disney+), but CEO Bob Iger says the move enables the company to "completely integrate" Hulu into its streaming plans in the future.

In the end, Iger is hoping to offer a "greater value" and an "even more compelling" experience to customers following this deal. Unfortunately, we have no idea what that means from a practical, user-oriented standpoint.

Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney+.

Perhaps Hulu will remain a place for Disney to give viewers more original (and mature) franchises and content like The Handmaid's Tale, whereas Disney+ could house the company's feature films and original spin-offs of existing franchises (such as Star Wars). Regardless, that's speculation on our part, so we'll simply have to wait and see what Disney has up its sleeve.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/80078-comcast-hands-over-full-control-hulu-disney.html

 

[p51d007]

Disney is gobbling up everyone. Getting too big.

 

[Evernessince]

Disney is gobbling up everyone. Getting too big.

Yep and now they've just acquired one of the biggest streaming services as well. Most likely they plan to leverage their content to force customers into their streaming service if they want to watch Disney's many franchises.

 

[Axiarus]

Disney is gobbling up everyone. Getting too big.

Yep and now they've just acquired one of the biggest streaming services as well. Most likely they plan to leverage their content to force customers into their streaming service if they want to watch Disney's many franchises.

I have already made my decision. They f'ed over really good Marvel shows. If they have anything I want to watch that is not on Netflix I am just gunna sail on down to a certain bay.

 

[texasrattler]

Disney taking owner ship of Hulu, could bring back certain Marvel content that wasn't pg. Think Punisher. We will just have to wait and see.

 

[wiyosaya]

Disney taking owner ship of Hulu, could bring back certain Marvel content that wasn't pg. Think Punisher. We will just have to wait and see.

I agree; however, according to another article published here at TS a while back, they will have to wait a couple of years before they can use any of the characters from the Netflix series since Netflix now has the rights to those characters.

Personally, I would love to see the shows revived - if they can keep from telling the same stories over and over with the same villains. IMO, the last Daredevil was a bit boring because of Wilson Fisk.

Perhaps, though, shows like the recently announced Hulu version of Ghost Rider will be more adult oriented since it will be on Hulu.

For anyone interested, here is another, more detailed story on the deal. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-disney-assumes-full-hulu-comcast.html

 

[ForgottenLegion]

Disney is gobbling up everyone. Getting too big.

Yep and now they've just acquired one of the biggest streaming services as well. Most likely they plan to leverage their content to force customers into their streaming service if they want to watch Disney's many franchises.

Arrrrr me matey. Hulu me this and Hulu me that.
They'll never stop us sailing the seven seas.

 

[Uncle Al]

Newest business plan .... have lots and lots of streaming sites, each with their own "admission" so over all you could end up pay a LOT more than cable charged ..... and they say American's' are no longer innovators!

 

[Sabby]

I for one welcome our new streaming overlords.

 

[wiyosaya]

Newest business plan .... have lots and lots of streaming sites, each with their own "admission" so over all you could end up pay a LOT more than cable charged ..... and they say American's' are no longer innovators!

I, for one, am not falling for that game, and I doubt it will be successful. Why? Speaking for myself, I was tired of paying for 500 channels of I never watched. I now use OTA, Hulu, and Netflix. Guess what? I still have the equivalent of 500 channels of I never watch. Do I like some Disney material? Yes. Will I subscribe to their new streaming service so that I can have 500 additional channels of I will never watch even after they remove it from Netflix? No.

My local library has an extensive collection of Disney material, not to mention an extensive collection of non Disney material, that I can borrow for next to nothing and satisfy my desire to, occasionally, watch some Disney material.

I, for one, have a life that is devoid of the potential potato farm on my couch.

All I have to say to them about their new business plan is, "Good luck with that. I guess you and the myriad of other streaming services did not learn your lesson when people cut your cable cords. It seems that the populace will have to teach you that lesson again."

No one is forcing anyone to subscribe. There are other outlets for the material.

 

[mctommy]

I could care less for hulu. I'll probably sign up with Disney streaming in Q4 2019.

I cut the cord in 2014 so I only pay Overlord Comcast $80/monthly for a 150mb down (alternative is CenturyLink at 1.5mb down for $30), so between netflix family plan (free for T-Mobile select plan but I pay extra $3 upcharge for family plan) and my OTA antennas, the cost of streaming is still minimal compare to what I used to pay.