Disney said on Wednesday that it will buy the rest of Hulu from Comcast for $8.61 billion. Comcast now owns 33 percent of Hulu, which means they have completed their takeover of the company.
According to the put/call arrangement, Disney plans to pay NBCU around $8.61 billion by December 1st. This amount represents NBCU’s share of the guaranteed minimum value for Hulu, which was agreed upon when the companies made their deal in 2019. The payment will be reduced by the anticipated capital call contributions that NBCU owes to Disney.
But Disney could pay more than the estimated amount. Disney and Comcast have agreed to a process where they will assess and determine the fair value of Hulu’s ownership as of September 30, 2023.
If the value ends up being higher than the guaranteed minimum value, Disney will pay NBCU a percentage of the difference between the actual value and the minimum value.
The big entertainment company says that they’re not sure when the appraisal process will be finished, but Disney expects it to be done by 2024.
Disney announced in a statement that this decision will help the company achieve its goals in streaming.
In August, it was announced that Disney+ had a significant decrease in subscribers, losing over 10 million mainly because of the Indian market.
Netflix’s subscriber count increased to 247 million in the last quarter, while they also took action against people sharing passwords.
Netflix says that its free version with ads was already becoming popular in the US, which helped increase its number of subscribers.
Disney+ now has a version with ads in the US. We will find out from Disney’s upcoming earnings call if it is as popular as Netflix.