No Hulu Stake for Time Warner Cable, For Now
Hulu’s owners, which canceled plans to sell the venture outright earlier this month, have ended talks with Time Warner Cable about the cable operator potentially taking an ownership stake in the Internet TV venture although they might resume at a later date, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Reuters reported the end of the talks between the parties earlier.
The three media companies that own Hulu – The Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox and Comcast’s NBCUniversal — had solicited bids to sell the company, after previously in 2011. Hulu attracted offers from DirecTV, Chernin Group and AT&T, Guggenheim Digital and KKR, and others; Time Warner Cable had proposed a partial ownership stake.
But on July 12 the trio called off the sale process, announcing they would invest $750 million in Hulu to add more content and grow the business.
Company execs insisted they canceled plans to sell Hulu not because the bids came in too low, but because they decided the venture held long-term strategic value as a vehicle to build up subscription VOD service.
SEE ALSO: In Hulu’s Future, There Will Be Less Broadcast TV
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