Hulu Decides Against Selling After Months of Negotiations

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Back in September, Hulu announced a million customers, and with the announcement comes the revelation that Hulu is reevaluating whether to sell or not. Hulu has been on the market for quite some time, and went through some serious talks with big companies like Yahoo, Google, and Dish for a possible takeover.

The three aforementioned companies are most serious bidders. But Yahoo, in particular, had to withdraw from the race earlier after the sudden ousting of CEO Carol Bartz. Google and Dish remained in the game. Google offered a whopping $4 billion, but not without a series of conditions that do not sit well with Hulu’s current owners, News Corp, NBC Universal, and Providence Equity. Dish, on the other hand, offered a “paltry” $1.9 billion, which is less than Hulu’s willing to accept. Now, after all the grueling talks, Hulu decided not to sell.

Upon the announcement of one million paying subscribers, Hulu was positive that it will gain a profit of $500 million this year. But it seems analysts are not convinced that that’s enough to keep Hulu running, as they believe not selling is “an abandonment of Hulu’s growth potential,” especially since internet streaming is a growing market.