The Walt Disney Company has taken full operational control of Hulu after reaching an agreement with Comcast, which owned a third of the streaming service.
Under the deal announced on 14 May 2019, Comcast’s NBCUniversal gave up its say in running Hulu straight away, but the sale of its stake to Disney was set for a later date. Starting in January 2024, either company could require the other to complete the purchase at fair market value, and Disney guaranteed a minimum total valuation of 27.5 billion dollars for Hulu.
How Disney got here
Disney became Hulu’s majority owner in March 2019 when it completed the purchase of most of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, including Fox’s share of the service. Weeks earlier, Hulu had bought back the 9.5 per cent stake held by AT&T, leaving Disney and Comcast as the only shareholders.
Until the stake changed hands, Hulu would keep licensing programmes from NBCUniversal, and Comcast would contribute its share of funding.
A crowded streaming market
Hulu, known for series such as The Handmaid’s Tale, had around 28 million subscribers at the time and was adding customers quickly. It gave Disney a service aimed at adults to sit alongside Disney+, the family-focused platform with Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and classic Disney films that was due to launch in the United States in November 2019, and the ESPN+ sports service.
The move put Disney in a stronger position against Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, while Comcast was preparing its own streaming platform, which later launched as Peacock.
Comcast triggered the sale of its stake in late 2023, when Disney paid about 8.6 billion dollars based on the agreed minimum valuation. The final price was settled by an independent appraisal in June 2025, which added a further 438.7 million dollars and left Hulu wholly owned by Disney.
Sources: joint announcement by The Walt Disney Company and Comcast (14 May 2019), company filings.