Disney has written a very big check as part of the process of buying the final 33% of Hulu from Comcast. Comcast President Mike Cavanagh shared that an $8.61 billion dollar check arrived Friday. Cavanagh hoped it would be the first and not the last as Hulu continues to go through its valuation process.
The current check pays off the base level of what the valuation of Hulu could be. As it continues to undergo its valuation, that number could go up. This is something that Comcast is hoping and anticipating will happen. This process was moved up from January 2024 to this fall, which led to Disney’s first payment being due on December 1, 2023.
The “check cleared, it’s in the account,” Cavanagh said at an investor conference on Monday. “We expect, and certainly hope to get more than that once the process ends. But it’s really just the beginning.”
The finalization of the sale of Hulu to Disney comes as Disney is looking to pivot its business model from linear programming to streaming. This has led to disruptions in the industry, that were accelerated by the pandemic. Upon Disney CEO Bob Iger’s return to Disney, he didn’t commit initially to purchasing Hulu. However, as time has moved on it has become a clearer choice that it would benefit the company.
The purchase of Hulu comes as a bundled app with Disney+ and Hulu for subscribers of both streamers is set to be unveiled in December of 2024.
What do you think of this next step of completion towards the full ownership of Hulu by Disney? Do you think it was a good move? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
