Disney Cost to take control of Hulu $439M

Disney will pay Comcast’s NBCUniversal nearly $439 million for its stake in Hulu, taking full control of the streaming service.

The move closes out an appraisal process that’s dragged on for a few years. Disney said in November 2023 that it was acquiring a 33% stake in Hulu from Comcast for at least $8.6 billion. That amount reflected Hulu’s guaranteed floor value of $27.5 billion, according to a regulatory filing.

Disney has run Hulu since 2019, when Comcast ceded its authority to Disney and effectively became a silent partner.

Hulu began in 2007 and quickly evolved into as a service backed by entertainment conglomerates who hoped to stave off the internet with an online platform for their own TV shows. Disney joined in 2009, planning to offer shows from ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel. A decade later, Disney gained majority control of the business when it acquired 21st Century Fox.

Disney said in a regulatory filing on Monday that its appraiser arrived at a valuation below the guaranteed floor value during the initial phase of the appraisal process, while NBCUniversal’s appraiser arrived at a valuation substantially in excess of the guaranteed floor value. A third appraiser was brought in and concluded that The Walt Disney Co. will pay $438.7 million for the Hulu stake.

TV woes prompt Paramount job cuts

Paramount Global plans to cut several hundred employees on Tuesday due to a continuing decline in the cable-TV industry and the broader economic landscape.

The move will affect about 3.5% of the media company’s U.S. workforce, according to an internal memo sent to staff.

“These changes are necessary to address the environment we are operating in and best position Paramount for success,” wrote co-Chief Executive Officers George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins.

Paramount, the parent company of TV channels including CBS and MTV and iconic Hollywood film studios, previously cut 15% of its staff in a multi-round layoff last year.

Meta in talks to invest in startup Scale AI

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is in advanced talks to invest billions of dollars in Scale AI, a startup focused on data used by artificial intelligence companies.

The potential investment is a sign that large tech companies remain interested in startups focused on AI amid a heated contest to be a leader in the technology. If an investment happens, it will be an outlier for Meta, which typically does not invest in outside companies. Meta and Scale declined to comment.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has leaned into incorporating AI across Meta’s products, including in smart glasses and a recently released app, Meta AI.

Founded in San Francisco by Alexandr Wang and Lucy Guo in 2016, Scale AI built a business with armies of contract workers who sift through vast amounts of data, labeling and “cleaning” the information to make it easier to use to train AI systems. Scale sells its services to companies such as Microsoft, Cohere, Etsy and OpenAI.

Compiled from Associated Press, New York Times and Bloomberg reports.