How Can I Buy Hulu Stock Today
You can't buy Hulu stock now because Hulu is not yet publicly traded. Hulu is owned by two major entertainment companies, Disney, which owns 67%, and Comcast, owner of 33%. Comcast has announced that it will sell its 33% share in Hulu to Disney in 2024, giving Disney full ownership of Hulu. Hulu is up against strong competition for streaming subscribers. Some, such as Netflix, are well established. Others, such as HBO Max and Paramount Plus are new competition. The competition in streaming is one reason why Disney has given no indication that it will sell stock in Hulu in the near future.
Where Does Hulu Fit With Disney?
Hulu is one of the oldest streaming services, having originated in 2007. It was created as a joint venture by News Corp and NBC Universal, owners of Comcast. Disney became the majority owner when it purchased all media and broadcasting assets from 21st Century Fox in 2019. The purchase did not include assets owned by News Limited, which includes Fox news. Disney bundled Hulu with another recent acquisition, ESPN+, and Disney's own streaming service, Disney+. Hulu brings multiple tiers of content to Disney, with an ad-free version, a low-cost subscription with ads, and live television. Hulu features live content from live local network affiliates of ABC and FOX as well as on-demand content from a variety of sources, such as ABC, FOX, FX, ESPN, and A&E Networks.
How Is Hulu Doing Against The Competition?
Hulu has been around since 2007 but, according to Disney, it has yet to make any money. Disney stated when it acquired Hulu in 2019 that it projects that Hulu will begin making a profit in 2024. As of February 2021, Hulu had 39.4 million subscribers. That's after a 100,000 drop in subscriptions in 2020, which coincided with a price increase of $10.00 per subscriber as well as the entry of HBO Max and NBC's Peacock in the world of Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD). These new services took subscribers from all of the existing players, including Netflix.
Hulu's 13% of US market share ranked it third overall among streaming services in 2020. Netflix was number one with 20%, followed by Amazon at 16%.
Why Would (Or Wouldn't) Disney Separate Hulu?
The amount of money spent on subscription television in the US in 2020 was $119.7 billion. Today, Disney's bundle of Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ gives them 26% of the subscription service revenue. That's second to Netflix, which brings in 31%.
Disney's projection of having Hulu in the black by 2024 is likely based on the following: One, increasing Hulu's monthly subscription fees; two, Hulu benefiting from Disney's content expertise and huge wallet.
Hulu does offer Disney access to television advertising dollars, something Disney doesn't get from Disney+. It is estimated the online television advertising market will reach $50 billion by 2022. Hulu gives Disney a path to that market. Hulu also gives Disney a place for programming that doesn't fit the family-friendly format of Disney+.
How can you buy Hulu? Buy Disney stock. There is no Hulu IPO on the horizon.