

Hulu puts itself up for sale - mef
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/06/hulu-puts-itself-up-for-sale-engages-investment-banks.html

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jsherry
Same theme over and over and it's frustrating: technology is fully ready to
support streaming and on demand programming, but the content providers don't
like licensing the content because it cannibalizes their TV product. And who
can blame them really? They're the only show in town and they should cash in
via whatever method best suits them.

The only real chance for things like Hulu and Netflix to succeed no-holds-
barred, carrying everybody's content, is for them to carry their own content.
Netflix is starting to do this and finally some competition in the form of
fresh content is beginning to occur. Now if this behavior goes mainstream,
people may stop watching traditional television in lieu of Netflix not only
because they like the convenience but also prefer the programming. Then we
have real incentive for the networks to get their stuff back on streaming
platforms because it will no longer be a question of cannibalism, but one of
losing viewersip altogether.

This makes sense in my head - hopefully it does too here ;-)

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spydertennis
One thought I had was that Hulu/Netflix should buy the rights to cancelled
shows that have popular followings and pay to have new seasons made. Obviously
this is fraught with potential problems (people are committed to other
projects) but it could be cool.

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redthrowaway
They would have to buy those rights from TV studios, who would for obviously
reasons be loathe to part with them. Even producing their own shows is
problematic, as the studios can blackball any
actors/writers/directors/production people who work with them.

The television and film industry is a tight-knit group, and I can easily see
them circling the wagons in order to protect their distribution monopoly.

~~~
chopsueyar
Isn't that what Canada is for?

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redthrowaway
It's the same industry and same people. Also, our homebrew shows are mostly
crap. Except Trailer Park Boys.

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c2
Really throws the future of Hulu in doubt. If the big three media companies
are no longer part owners, and they already see Hulu as undermining and
upsetting their traditional partners, what incentive do they have to continue
providing free content?

If anything at this point Hulu will be a talent acquisition.

~~~
joeguilmette
i love Hulu and really dont like Netflix... if Hulu dies I'm going to be
firing up Utorrent for the first time in a long time.

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aninteger
Why exactly do you like Hulu? It seems they offer the same content that exists
if you go directly to TV channel websites (abc.com, nbc.com, cbs.com, etc). I
never found anything on their site that didn't exist on the network's own
sites.

Yes, Hulu Plus has older seasons for certain shows but so does Netflix.

If, and only if, they start streaming Mad Men or Breaking Bad then I'm in!

~~~
spydertennis
Do you use Kayak or go direct to the airline?

There's a lot to be said for aggregation + really nice UI. Plus they have
streaming 720p (drool) and some pretty decent movies.

~~~
zitterbewegung
Netflix has HD streaming also.

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nl
Hulu is probably the most surprising success on the internet today.

Remember when Google referred to it as ClownCo because of the chance they
thought it had of succeeding[1][2]? Most people agreed with that assessment,
given the lack of success News, Disney & NBC had with digital projects prior
to that. What chance did a company have when it had to try & get them all to
work together?

The Hulu CEO (Jason Kilar) has done an excellent job.

[1] [http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/22/confirmed-tv-networks-
launc...](http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/22/confirmed-tv-networks-launch-new-
company-to-counter-perceived-googleyoutube-threat/)

[2] [http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/23/what-we-know-so-far-
about-n...](http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/23/what-we-know-so-far-about-
newtube-isnt-good/)

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joelhaus
For context, last years IPO was expected to raise $300MM on a $2 billion
valuation[1]. However, it was also reported that even with $240MM in revenue,
a lack of long-term content licenses sidelined the whole affair[2].

What really boggles the mind is the stated reason for a sale: " _concerns that
the site's success is undermining the traditional television business_ ". If
Netflix can hold-on and capture enough quality content, these old-school
players will eventually go the way of the big record labels. Hulu's existence
actually indicated that they might have learned from the music industry's
mistakes.

[1] <http://venturebeat.com/2010/10/08/hulu-ipo-report/>

[2] [http://www.businessinsider.com/hulu-ipo-knocked-off-track-
by...](http://www.businessinsider.com/hulu-ipo-knocked-off-track-by-lack-of-
long-term-streaming-rights-2010-12)

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thematt
_The popular online television site, which has been the cause of much
consternation in Hollywood_

I don't get it -- why would it cause consternation? It was a joint venture
between NBC, Fox and Disney as a means to make available their own content.

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staunch
Hulu with no content licenses is still valuable. The brand is established,
they have significant traffic, the technology seems to be pretty well put
together.

Maybe even valuable enough to recoup their $100 million investment.

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mbesto
> _The brand is established, they have significant traffic, the technology
> seems to be pretty well put together._

Disagree.

If google reader couldn't use the NYTimes, ChiTribune, LA Times, etc. would it
be valuable?

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po
Yes. I don't subscribe to NYTimes, ChiTribune, LA Times or any other
traditional media outlet in Google Reader and I use it every day.

Although the analogy is flawed, your point still stands that Hulu is nothing
without content. The difference is that the television industry is so much
more bound up in distribution rights than the web in general.

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diogenescynic
Why doesn't Netflix buy Hulu? They seem complementary to each other--Netflix
has movies, Hulu has tv. Unless this wouldn't be allowed for legal reasons.

~~~
roc
Because the only thing HULU has over Netflix, is sweetheart content deals.
Deals that are poised to evaporate for the publicly stated reason for the sale
in the first place.

(the networks don't like how HULU is encroaching on their TV money)

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ianb
Hulu feels technically _sufficient_ to me. It's about content now. A sale
seems like it could go two ways:

1) They've been getting by on sweetheart deals from their owners, and once
departed their licensing dries up and they are useless. (Their licensing
already look pretty pathetic IMHO - for god's sake there's shows you can view
for free online that you can't view _as a paying custom_ on a TV)

2) Separated from TV they can hire negotiators that are cutthroat and leave
every negotiation making the content provider feel like they've been taken
advantage of. Like negotiators who say "if you don't give your show A, I'm
going to go to show B and give them everything they want and promote the hell
out of them and bury you." And they mostly lie but sometimes do in fact
destroy their opponent to make a point.

But if Yahoo buys them they are fucked, because Yahoo fucks everything up.

I assume Netflix's approach is to negotiate hard, but be willing to walk away
from anything because the back catalog has become so large that no one thing
is essential. Hulu isn't so different, but is strategically tied to current
releases as a starting point.

~~~
chopsueyar
_But if Yahoo buys them they are fucked, because Yahoo fucks everything up._

Viaweb?

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kenjackson
Hulu should hire me as their CEO. Here's what I'd do:

1) Secure medium term content deals with all current partners. I'd like five
years, but I'll make do with three years.

2) Start building my own high quality content. Try to grab someone like Sue
Naegle or Carolyn Strauss (both HBO blood) to run this.

3) Pay crazy money to get DirectTvs NFL deal to Hulu+.

With all that said, I think they've done a pretty good job w/o me. :-)

~~~
neworbit
Hulu is simply too small to do #1 or #3. They would have to spend phenomenal
amounts of money, which they don't have - without an IPO, or perhaps even with
one. #2 is doable but not a slam-dunk, it still can be hit or miss.

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EdgarZambrana
I hope netflix buys them. It would be a big step towards "cutting the cord".

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mrpollo
hope Yahoo! buys out Hulu!, and maybe even PopCap too

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seanp2k
Who'd want it, unless someone is looking to launch an inferior Netflix
competitor.

~~~
phlux
Why wouldnt netflix want it? Other than Adrian is pretty damn smart in saying
that netflix will only be a cloud consumer - so if Hulu is heavily reliant on
their own HW infrastructure for their current delivery - then I can see
netflix stating its not a good fit for their model.

~~~
jerf
'Why wouldnt netflix want it?"

I'm pretty sure the correct question is "Why _would_ Netflix want it?"
(companies don't generally acquire other companies "because why not?", at
least not ones that hang around long), and I can't say I see a good answer to
that. The only thing that Netflix could win with would be licensing deals,
except Hulu doesn't actually have them, as they are all short term deals. If
Netflix and NBC want to get together, or not get together, Netflix's
possession of Hulu isn't going to affect anything either way in that case.

It isn't even worth buying them to squash them; they're doing a very good job
of that on their own, and the list of buyers who stands a realistic chance of
reversing that is very short.

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americandesi333
Just to play devil's advocate here, if you step back and see, Hulu is not a
bad acquisition for Netflix and why? Its because Hulu will bring Netflix the
'scale' and additional premium customers. I know a lot of people who purchase
Hulu or Netflix, but cannot justify buying both.

~~~
jerf
I do not recall recently reading stories about how Hulu traffic is now 30% of
the internet traffic during peak times. I do recall reading this:
[http://www.telecompetitor.com/report-netflix-
represents-30-o...](http://www.telecompetitor.com/report-netflix-
represents-30-of-peak-internet-traffic/)

I don't think Hulu has much scale to offer Netflix.

