The online streaming situation in Australia isn’t as dire as it once was, with once VPN-only services such as Netflix and Prime Video readily available in local form. Hulu, however, is one of the big players still missing from the picture, though with Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, this looks like it could change, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger.
In a recent earnings call for Walt Disney Co., the topic of Hulu came up — specifically the company’s plans for the service going forwards. Once the Fox acquisition is complete, Disney will own a majority share — 60 per cent, compared to Comcast’s 30 per cent and AT&T’s 10 per cent.
Iger responded by saying that it will “meet with the Hulu management team and the board and discuss what the opportunities”, particularly “global growth” and content investment:
We [plan to work] with Hulu to introduce Hulu in more international markets as well … I can’t really say much yet about Hulu in terms of international markets, although we’re just looking at basically a set of priorities in terms of how we’re going to launch Disney.
And then after the deal closes and after we have the 60% ownership, we’ll meet with the Hulu management team and the board and discuss what the opportunities are in terms of both global growth and investing more in content.
But that’s something that we have to do after the deal closes.
It’s clear from the transcript that if Hulu does spread to other markets, it’s going to take a while to make it happen and even then, Australia may not be a priority.
Still, it’s interesting to see that Hulu remains on Disney’s radar, considering Disney+ is a thing.
[Seeking Alpha, via The Verge]