At long last, Disney and Comcast have officially closed the circle on the former’s acquisition of Hulu.
After the two sides reached an agreement in 2023 that sold Comcast’s 33% stake in the streaming service to Disney, the companies have since clashed over the final valuation for the asset. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Disney agreed to pay a floor of $8.61 billion, while Comcast believed the final price should be approximately $5 billion higher.
On Thursday, the issue was finally resolved. Disney is set to pay Comcast an additional $439 million, signaling that its valuation of the streamer was more in line with reality than Comcast’s.
In the two years since Disney and Comcast reached an initial agreement, Disney assumed operational control Hulu, but hasn’t yet been able to take full advantage of the integration potential the streamer offers for its other brands. Specifically, Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned a forthcoming integration between Hulu and ESPN now that the deal is officially closed.
“Completing the Hulu acquisition paves the way for a deeper and more seamless integration of Hulu’s general entertainment content with Disney+ and, soon, with ESPN’s direct-to-consumer product, providing an unrivaled value proposition for consumers,” Iger said Monday in a statement following the deal’s finalization.
ESPN, of course, is set to launch its much-anticipated direct-to-consumer streaming service this fall. Disney will surely put a large emphasis on its bundled offering which combines Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN all for one monthly price. It seems that Disney sees Hulu as a potential all-in-one platform for its content, and the official end of this dispute with Comcast should only accelerate those visions.
Per THR, the full acquisition will be completed by July 24.
