Time Warner has taken an equity stake in Hulu, and will become a 10% owner of the leading over the-top (OTT) streaming platform.
huluThe US media behemoth joins The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, and Comcast in the joint venture. It paid $583 million in cash for the 10% stake, valuing Hulu at about $5.8 billion.
The move comes with a content deal too: Turner’s entertainment, sports, news and kids networks including TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies will be available live and on-demand on Hulu’s new live-streaming service, which is slated to launch early next year.
Hulu will continue its existing offering of ad-supported and ad-free subscription video-on-demand (VOD) products to complement both traditional pay TV packages as well as the new streaming service.
“Our investment in Hulu underscores Time Warner’s commitment to supporting and developing new platforms for the delivery of high-quality content and great consumer experiences to audiences around the globe,” said Jeff Bewkes, chairman and CEO of Time Warner.
“We’re also excited to join Hulu’s other owners in launching a new consumer-friendly package featuring leading networks that will deliver more value to audiences and complement Hulu’s core SVOD offerings. The inclusion of Turner’s networks in Hulu’s new streaming service furthers our efforts to allow consumers to engage with and enjoy our brands across a wide range of platforms and services.”
Mike Hopkins, CEO of Hulu, added: “This investment from Time Warner marks a major step for Hulu as we continue to redefine television for both consumers and advertisers. Our two companies have long enjoyed a productive relationship – which includes the availability of past seasons of popular Turner shows on our current SVOD offerings – and we are very proud that Turner’s networks will be included in our planned live streaming service.”
Time Warner also reported its Q2 earnings, including net income of $952 million, down about 2% from last year’s Q2, on revenues of $6.95 billion, down 5.4%. The top line was short of analyst expectations for $7.05 billion. But adjusted earnings at $1.29 per share beat projections for $1.16.
The company says it now expects 2016 adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations to end up between $5.35 and $5.45 — up five cents from its previous forecast.
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