Hulu, the American streamer owned by both Disney (DIS) and Comcast, is not available in the U.K. Its content, however, is largely available through Disney+ bundles which provide a one-stop streaming service that provides Disney, Hulu and ESPN content.
That set-up of a single stream rather than three might soon become a reality in the U.S.
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Speaking at the SVB Moffett Nathanson investor conference Tuesday, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said that it's "more than likely" that Comcast will sell its 33% stake in Hulu to Disney in early 2024.
This latest affirmation of the multi-billion dollar deal comes after several years of flip-flopping about the possibility of Comcast selling Disney its stake.
In 2019, the two media giants inked a deal that gave Disney full operational control over Hulu. A part of this deal allowed for Comcast to sell its Hulu stake to Disney in 2024 at a valuation of $27.5 billion, even if Hulu is worth less at the time of the sale.
Comcast's stake, according to the deal, would be worth at least $5.8 billion.
But Disney CEO Bob Iger, just a few months ago, expressed a potential interest in selling its 66% Hulu stake, rather than buying out Comcast's stake.
"Everything is on the table right now, so I am not going to speculate whether we are a buyer or a seller of it," Iger told CNBC in February. "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.
Last week, however, Iger's perspective on the value of Hulu seemed to shift. The Disney chief said that Disney and Comcast had already spoken about Hulu earlier this year.
"I can say we’ve had some conversations with them already,” Iger told CNBC. “There seems to be real value in having general entertainment combined with Disney+. And if, ultimately, Hulu is that solution, that’s we’re — we’re bullish about that.”
Roberts, acknowledging the value of Hulu, noted Tuesday that a U.S. streaming service with close to 50 million subscribers has never been up for sale before.
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