Today, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that he’s open to selling Hulu saying that “everything is on the table.” Disney currently owns a 66.7% in the streaming service and yesterday, during The Walt Disney Company’s Q1 earnings call, Iger noted Disney was going to try to save $3 billion in cost savings by cutting back on general entertainment.
When asked about purchasing Comcast’s 33% stake in Hulu at the end of 2024, Iger said the following:
“Everything is on the table right now, so I am not going to speculate whether we are a buyer or a seller of it. But I obviously have suggested that I’m concerned about undifferentiated general entertainment, particularly in the competitive landscape that we are operating in, and we are going to look at it very objectively and expansively.”
When host David Faber asked whether he’d be interested if Comcast CEO Brian Roberts inquired about buying the Disney stake, Iger said, “We will be open minded.”
Faber pressed on that the going assumption has been that Disney would buy the remaining stake in Hulu. “And I think I am suggesting that that is not necessarily the case,” Iger said.
You can watch that interview below:
According to Deadline, Disney owns two thirds of Hulu and Comcast holds the remaining third. Under a put/call agreement, Comcast can require Disney to buy its stake, and Disney can require Comcast to sell the stake, starting in January of next year. Hulu’s fair market value will be assessed by independent experts, but Disney has guaranteed a sale price for Comcast that represents a minimum total equity value of $27.5 billion.
Source: Deadline