There’s no doubt that, after years of expansion, we’re headed for a war of attrition when it comes to the plethora of streaming services that are now vying for the people’s ever-more-precious entertainment dollars.
And one entertainment giant is making a move to fully consolidate their assets ahead of what will surely be fierce competition in the coming years.
The Walt Disney Company announced Wednesday in a press release that they’ve reached an agreement with Comcast to purchase Comcast’s 33% stake in the streaming service Hulu for about $8.61 billion.
Once the deal is complete, Hulu will be completely owned by Disney, which currently offers the service as part of a streaming bundle with ESPN and its own Disney +.
“The acquisition of Comcast’s stake in Hulu at fair market value will further Disney’s streaming objectives,” the release states, but it does not elaborate on just what those streaming objectives may be.
Disney’s purchase of the remaining outstanding stake in Hulu has been expected for over a year. Disney acquired the initial two-thirds of Hulu as part of their 2019 purchase of the entertainment assets previously owned by Fox.
The final price tag could end up more than the currently agreed-upon amount as the deal is subject to an appraisal process, which could end up netting even more money for Comcast in the end.
“One could see it as a sign of the times as more and more media companies look at merging and consolidating,” former network television executive and UCLA lecturer Tom Nunan told The Washington Post.
Now the question becomes whether more of the slew of streaming services currently available will follow suit and begin merging. Contracting the amount of competition generally leads to higher prices.
If more smaller fish get swallowed up by the biggest fish in the streaming pond, it could be consumers’ wallets that soon get bitten.