Hulu was one of the first true streaming platforms on the market, and debuted (I think) with SuperBowl commercials with Alec Baldwin touting how cool it was that it was free with limited commercials.

Granted that didn’t stay that way.

Well Hulu was owned by Disney, Fox, NBC Universal, and Warner Media.  Now that Disney is acquiring Fox’s share, it now has 60% state of the companies shares.  NBC retains 30% and Warner 10%.  The acquisition though allows them make unilateral decisions without any real objections from their partners.

Because of this, they now have the ability to offer Hulu internationally despite objections.   This is even more interesting because Disney is about to launch Disney+ as a premium streaming service as well.

Disney+ will offer up Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios library on their service.  Which means Star Wars, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and animated Disney classics.

It’ll be curious to see how Disney manages Disney+ (what a terrible name) and Hulu since they’ll be activating competing for subscribers.  With everyone launching a paid subscription service including YouTube and Twitch channels, there is just too much paid subscriber content to afford to pay for everything you want.

Will Disney merge content?  Will they make it a two-for-one type deal?  Well they keep Hulu for their Fox properties and leave Disney+(Ultra!) for their more conventionally accepted Disney content? Who knows.

How ironic is it that cable would become the more affordable option because of the greed of individual studios?