Comcast “more likely than not” to sell Hulu stake to Disney, says CEO Brain Roberts

Comcast is “more likely than not” to sell its 33% stake in the US streaming service Hulu, revealed the cable and media giant’s CEO Brain Roberts.

During the New York-based MoffettNathanson Inaugural Technology, Media and Telecom conference on Tuesday, the Comcast boss said it expects to sell its minority stake in Hulu to Disney at the beginning of next year which is currently valued at a minimum $9 billion.

Roberts said, “I’m pretty certain that when we sell our Hulu stake, it’ll be for more than what we have in it. In fact, that’s contractually certain.”

“What would a willing buyer in a robust auction pay,” he added.

Disney has 66% majority stake in Hulu following its acquisition of 20th Century Fox. Under a deal struck in 2019, Comcast can force Disney to buy its stake in the streamer in early 2024, or Disney can force Comcast to sell the stake.

Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed last week during the company second’s quarter earning calls revealed during the call that Disney had shared “cordial” and “constructive” conversations with Comcast about acquiring its one-third stake in Hulu.

At the conference Roberts pointed to the Disney boss comments where he said ““I can’t really say where [that will] end up, only to say that there seems to be real value in having general entertainment combined with Disney+. And if, ultimately, Hulu is that solution, we’re bullish about that.”

Iger had also announced plans to combine Disney+ and Hulu content on to one streaming describing it a “logical progression of our DTC offering”.

Comcast recently reported a boost in profit and earnings per share in its first quarter results, though it did also see a 4.3% drop in revenue to US$29.7 billion.