Disney Buys a Stake In Hulu

Disney is the latest to join the party: they’re officially buying into Hulu. With this move, we’ll be seeing some new shows make their way over including “Lost”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “Desperate Housewives”. The scoop:

Disney, which made the deal through subsidiary ABC Enterprises Inc., joins News Corp., NBC Universal and Providence Equity Partners as an equity partner in the fast-growing TV and movie-streaming site. Terms of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, were not announced. Disney will have near parity with News Corp. and NBC, according to an industry source. Other sites have reported it would take a stake between 27% and 30%, which the source said is within the realm of possibility. 

Once the deal closes, Hulu will begin streaming current ABC hits Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and other current shows the day after they air on TV, mirroring Disney’s streaming strategy on ABC.com and other Disney sites. Disney also offers streams of its shows through distribution partners AOL, Fancast and Xbox Live, which it will continue to do. Hulu, along with Disney and its partners, will get an exclusive window for Disney content. 

In addition to ABC primetime shows, Disney will also offer other current and library shows from ABC Daytime, ABC Family, the Disney Channel as well as “popular titles” from Walt Disney Studios to the site. The company hasn’t yet said what movies will be added.

One nice thing about this move is that there are now 3 out of the 4 major broadcasters that have joined Hulu. Right now VOD is extremely confusing to those who are not really paying much attention, so when the time comes for them to consider a service/company to go with they might not have a clue. Story courtesy of VidBiz.