Disney CEO Bob Iger may have more cost-cutting plans in store after stating that he’s weighing options for the co-owned streaming service. Disney owns two-thirds of Hulu while Comcast owns the remaining 33%. In an interview with CNBC’s David Faber the Disney CEO, who just yesterday announced plans to lay off 7,000 workers, said “Everything is on the table right now,” and that while leverage is not an issue the “intent is on reducing our debt over time.“
Meanwhile, it has been believed, that per an option in the agreement between Comcast and Disney, the House of Mouse will buy out its partner as soon as January 2024. However, in light of Disney’s latest job cuts, there is doubt as to exactly what Bog Iger’s intentions are towards the streaming service which provides a much wider range of adult content than what is offered by Disney’s mostly family-oriented Disney+ service.
Things could go either way
There is also speculation that Comcast may try to buy out Disney’s portion of Hulu but this would seem improbable as Bob Iger has also emphasized that “streaming is the future”. Both companies share a duality type of dynamic streaming structure in that each has its own proprietary platform, Disney+, and Peacock, to offer exclusive content. Both companies stream theatrical releases via these platforms. However, Disney has used Hulu for launching content from its purchase of Fox, such as the well-received Predator franchise movie, Prey, and is said to be working on another so things are a bit more complicated in regard to either option.
Disney CEO Bob Iger on Hulu’s future (per CNBC):
“We are intent on reducing our debt,” Iger said. “I’ve talked about general entertainment being undifferentiated. I’m not going to speculate if we’re a buyer or a seller of it. But I’m concerned about undifferentiated general entertainment. We’re going to look at it very objectively.”