LEAD STORY
Does Hulu Suffer From Middle Child Syndrome?
Hulu is like the forgotten middle child in the streaming world hierarchy.
Suppose we were to look at it from a sibling perspective.
In that case, the conversations about the streaming services would be centered between the eldest sibling Netflix and its youngest siblings, which include Disney Plus, HBO Max, Peacock, and Paramount Plus.
Then there is Hulu, the middle sibling, the one that at one point was jointly owned by Fox, Comcast (NBCUniversal), and Disney, and where you could watch past TV episodes. It’s now in a weird spot as it is majority owned by the House of Mickey, with Comcast retaining a minority stake.
Disney doesn’t want it to be a standalone streaming service anymore. They want it absorbed into Disney Plus, one of the baby siblings. To do that, though, they need to purchase the rest of Hulu from Comcast, which it can do in 2024.
However, Disney’s CEO, Bob Chapek, said he would like to move up the timeline of Disney acquiring the remaining parts of Hulu.
The problem is Comcast, which owns 33% of Hulu, is not ready to give up Hulu, especially for the cheap. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has indicated that if Hulu were to be sold instead of being absorbed by Disney, then they would be interested in purchasing it. They believe the streaming service has tremendous value and could be integrated with Peacock.
How serious Roberts is about getting Hulu is still to be determined. Could he be saying all of that so that he could prop up the value of their 33% share and make Disney work for it?
It seems like it.
Any chance of Disney getting Hulu sooner is looking less and less likely with Comcast’s stance. They will just have to wait till 2024 to see how much Comcast would be willing to sell its stake.
In the meantime, Hulu will continue to suffer from middle child syndrome — Disney will keep sending all the good content to Disney Plus, and the other streaming services, including Peacock, will continue to get all the attention.
(The Streamable, Benzinga, CNBC)
RECAP
Christ Licht Revamps CNN’s Morning Show
Out are Briana Keilar and John Berman, and in are Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins as CNN's new morning team. After making changes to CNN's backend, the network’s CEO, Chris Licht, is now remaking the on-air product. The new morning show, which has no name yet, will debut sometime in October, probably before the midterm elections. Licht said, “There is no stronger combination of talent than Don, Poppy, and Kaitlan to deliver on our promise of a game-changing morning news program.” Keilar and Berman, the current anchors of New Day, will be assigned new roles once the new show launches. This new morning show will be the most diverse show amongst its cable news competitors, but this will be the fourth major overhaul of CNN's morning programming since 2001, when the network moved its morning daypart shows from Atlanta to New York. (CNN Press Room)
Paramount Global Wants To Move Showtime’s Streaming Content To Paramount Plus
The streaming space is a crowded space, and with consumers increasingly looking for ways to trim their streaming budgets, it does not make sense for media companies to own multiple paid streaming services. Paramount Global, which owns Paramount Plus, Showtime's streaming service, and BET Plus, is looking at trimming its offerings, as of now, from three to two. Doing away with Showtime's streaming service is the likely scenario as the streamer’s premium content, which consists of shows such as Yellowjackets and Billions, could be used to boost Paramount Plus. Paramount Global's CEO Bob Bakish has indicated that those conversations are being had, but nothing concrete has been established. (Wall Street Journal)
Tubi Launches World Cup FAST Channel
With the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament right around the corner, Fox Sports is preparing to provide soccer fans with as much soccer content as possible from the tournament. Fox Sports will use Fox Corp's free streaming service, Tubi, for its enhanced soccer coverage. The free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channel announced that it would launch a dedicated linear channel specifically for this year’s World Cup. The FIFA World Cup Channel will run from Nov. 20 through Dec. 18 and will make every single World Cup match available on-demand for free, and each match will be replayed for free as well. In addition to that, the channel will also offer content from past World Cups, including historical matches from men’s and women’s tournaments, featurettes on former championship teams and the stars that powered them, and much more. Fox Sports is the exclusive domestic broadcaster of this year’s World Cup, which will be shown on Fox and FS1. (Front Office Sports)
QUICK RECAP
Page Pate, a CNN contributor, passes away. (TVNewser)
ESPN announces promotions within its production units. (ESPN Press Room)
Rebecca Kutler joins MSNBC as SVP of content strategy. (Variety)
Marc Stewart joins CNN as an Asia-based international correspondent. (CNN Press Room)
Jay Croucher joins NBC Sports as a lead betting analyst. (NBC Sports Group Press Box)
CNN names Jasmine ‘The Jazzy Golfer’ as Living Golf's new host. (CNN Press Room)
Stephanie Busari has been promoted to CNN's senior editor for Africa. (Stephanie Busari/Twitter)
Dwayne Wade is leaving Turner Sports. (New York Post)
Benjy Sarlin leaves NBC News for Semafor. (Benjy Sarlin/Twitter)
Former CNN media reporter Brian Stelter has a new gig. (Brian Stelter/Twitter)
Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral: It will be a global event. (MediaPost)
Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral: It’s shaping up to be the TV event of the century. (The Guardian)
Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral: CNN's plans. (CNN Press Room)
Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral: BBC America's plans. (Alex Zalben/Twitter)
Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral: NBC News’ plans. (NBCUniversal Media Village)
Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral: ABC News’ plans. (ABC News Public Relations)
Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral: MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News, and CNBC’s plans. (TVNewser)
Thursday Night Football: What you need to know. (Sports Illustrated)
Thursday Night Football: What happened from a production standpoint during Amazon Prime’s first game? (Sports Video Group)
Thursday Night Football: How Amazon is trying to differentiate its Thursday Night Football games. (Adweek)
Thursday Night Football: NBC Sports is helping produce the games. (Jacob Feldman/Twitter)
Thursday Night Football: The streaming era finally kicks off. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Thursday Night Football: The NFL is betting big on streaming. (The Washington Post)
Thursday Night Football: How I started to love it. (Awful Announcing)
Thursday Night Football: Amazon's historic debut. (Axios)
Thursday Night Football: Amazon strikes a deal with Drafts Kings. (The Streamable)
Thursday Night Football: Amazon has come to the NFL. (The Ringer)
NBC News’ Peter Alexander on what it takes to be a father. (Parents)
Fox Sports could be interested in LIV Golf's media rights. (Front Office Sports)
NBC News’ Richard Engel warns of a new kind of censorship through social media. (Deadline)
Dick Ebersol on how he changed the way we watch sports. (Sportico)
Profile: Shannon Bream on her new role as anchor of Fox News Sunday. (Forbes)
Having two Monday Night Football games will be a test for ESPN/ABC. (Sports Business Journal)
Laila Harrak joins CNN International as an Atlanta-based anchor. (CNN Press Room)
ESPN sets up a program for up-and-coming content creators. (Front Office Sports)
NBCUniversal News Group to commemorate Hispanic Heritage. (NBCUniversal Media Village)
CBS News’ 60 Minutes adds a new section to its show. (Variety)
Paramount Plus was seen as a good fit for Walmart Plus. (The Streamable)
Amazon and Apple passed on LIV Golf's media rights. (Wall Street Journal $$$)
ABC News and George Stephanopolous have a new docuseries about young embeds. (TVNewser)
Disney Plus is way underpriced, says Bob Chapek. (Variety)
ESPN is a “must-have,” cable subscribers say. (Broadcasting+Cable)
Craig Carton’s FS1 show has a rough debut. (New York Post)
Champions for Change returns to CNN for its 6th year. (CNN Press Room)
MLB Network to air this year’s ALCS and ALDS in Spanish. (Awful Announcing)
NBC News’ Today with Hoda and Jenna gets a new open. (NewscastStudio)
NBC Sports launches a monthly Olympic program hosted by Maria Taylor and Mike Tirico. (NBC Sports Group Press Box)
Warner Bros. Discovery has laid off a lot of people from its ad sales workforce. (Front Office Sports)
NFL Week 1 opened up to huge TV numbers. (Sports Media Watch)
Thursday Night Football: Can Al Michaels make it a new ritual? (Los Angeles Times)
CBS News’ Gayle King to receive Walter Conkrite Journalism Award. (Twitter/CBSMorning)
A review of NBC News’ new afternoon news show NBC News Daily. (NewscastStudio)
Some union members of NBC News defy return to work orders. (The Wall Street Journal)
Disney CEO Bob Chapek says sports gambling is a reason for not selling ESPN. (Bloomberg)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #99 - 2022