By Dawn Chmielewski
(Reuters) – Walt Disney on Wednesday formally began the process of buying Comcast’s one-third stake in Hulu, a deal that will give Disney full ownership of the streaming service and freedom to incorporate it into the Disney+ streaming service.
Under the terms of the arrangement, Disney expects it will pay Comcast’s NBC Universal about $8.61 billion by December 1.
NBCUniversal parent Comcast agreed in 2019 to sell its stake to Disney, which controls the service. Under terms of that agreement, either NBCU or Disney could initiate the transaction as soon as Nov. 1 – a timetable that was accelerated from the initial date of January 2024.
The Burbank, California-based entertainment conglomerate gained a controlling interest in Hulu as part of its $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets. The transaction gave the studio a competitive leg up in the streaming wars.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
