Looks like Dish is bidding for Hulu after all

CK SatGuy

Formerly ckhalil18
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Feb 7, 2011
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The Motor City
From Variety:
Satcaster Dish Network is among the companies that will enter the first-round of bidding for streaming service Hulu, according to sources. While most reports have centered on the foursome of Google, Amazon, Yahoo and DirecTV, the Englewood, Colo.-based Dish is on the shortlist of those anticipated to bid on Hulu by Hulu's owners.
That Dish is interested in Hulu isn't entirely surprising given that the satellite service reportedly examined the venture's financials at least a month ago. But the company has since faded from the field of projected suitors despite being very much in the game.
A spokesman for Dish declined comment.
Hulu's owners are expecting to continue to field offers through the end of this week, with reports of a hard stop on Aug. 24 overstating what was always a loose deadline.
Other companies not on the shortlist may still make offers for the company owned by News Corp., Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal and Providence Equity Partners.
Should Dish manage to snap up Hulu, it would mark the continuation of a remarkable multibillion-dollar spending spree over the past 12 months that has included Blockbuster, DBSD North America and TerreStar Networks.
With Hulu expected to fetch as much as $2 billion, a Dish purchase would represent an extraordinary outlay but not one inconsistent with the company's goals. Since stepping in as CEO for founder Charlie Ergen earlier this year, Joseph Clayton has signaled his intent to provide some competition to Netflix by using Blockbuster as a vehicle for getting into the streaming-content business. Clayton has also indicated he could still make more acquisitions.
Having Hulu and Blockbuster under one roof would significantly improve Dish's prospects in taking on Netflix, though with 25 million subscribers, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company has enough of a lead not to sweat too profusely.
Coincidentally or not, Dish is the only distributor that News Corp.'s Fox has signed up that allows subscriber to get authenticated access to primetime series on Fox.com and Hulu the day after their original airdate. As of Aug. 15, non-Dish subs have to wait eight days after airdate to view Fox programs online.
Speculation regarding DirecTV had the satellite service going after Hulu in part to counter Dish's intent to get into streaming via Blockbuster.
A spokeswoman for Hulu declined to comment.
Dish Network joins Hulu bidding fray - Entertainment News, Technology News, Media - Variety
 
Dish already has Blockbuster, and for a fire sale price. Spending much, much more for Hulu doesn't make sense in that Dish can mold the new Blockbuster into something of a Netflix and Hulu-like hybrid using its existing agreements with content providers. Charlie (not Clayton) is only nosing around Hulu to look at the books (the equivalent of seeing your opponents hand in a card game) and to seem interested just to drive-up the price for the others who will be making serious bids.

The irony is that the owners of Hulu are content providers and the fact they are willing to sell it would suggest that they are changing tactics and pulling back to their more traditional means of making MUCH more money and it won't involve providing the new owners of Hulu with much content unless they pay a ransom and/or tie it to MVPD agreements. That is the direction the content owners are headed. The on-line model has impressive "hits" and numbers of users, but they aren't making any real money there. Now that the dalliance with "streaming internet" is coming to a close for them, they now realize it is with the MVPD/MSO's where they make their mountains of money and they are following the HBO Go model: tied to subscriptions to cable or sat for on-line access.
 
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