21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal, and The Walt Disney Company just announced that they’re not selling online video site Hulu after all. They also said they’re making “a commitment to recapitalize Hulu with $750 million in new funding for future growth.”
The final bidders for Hulu reportedly included DirecTV, a partnership between AT&T and Chernin Group, and private equity firm KKR. It seems, however, that none of them made a bid that satisfied the current owners, who previously tried to sell Hulu in 2011.
In the press release, Fox President and Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey says:
We believe the best path forward for Hulu is a meaningful recapitalization that will further accelerate its growth under the current ownership structure. We had meaningful conversations with a number of potential partners and buyers, each with impressive plans and offers to match, but with 21st Century Fox and Disney fully aligned in our collective vision and goals for the business, we decided to continue to empower the Hulu team, in this fashion, to continue the incredible momentum they’ve built over the last few years.
The press release also states that Hulu has 30 million unique monthly visitors and brought in $690 million in revenue last year.