The content deal between NBCUniversal and Hulu has been terminated and now Saturday Night Live and many other shows from NBCUniversal are being rerouted to the company’s own streaming platform Peacock.
The switch, which is projected to go into effect in September, comes as no surprise after rumors of it had been making the rounds for weeks. While it was not formally announced, the decision was confirmed to the media by multiple people familiar with the situation.
SNL, The Voice, and American Auto will no longer be accessible to view on Hulu the day after they premiere, starting this autumn. However, because it is a complicated web of next-day broadcast rights, cable and studio titles, movies, and library fare, the exact lineup of programmes migrating to Peacock has not yet been decided.
However, Hulu still holds rights “into the future” for certain high-profile NBC catalog titles like Law & Order: SVU, This Is Us, 30 Rock, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, and Will & Grace.
Comcast keeps a financial stake in Hulu until 2024, and NBCUniversal (which is owned by Comcast) has been a partner of the streaming platform since 2007 but a buyout will continue to be difficult given the tremendous growth of streaming in general. That, compounded with the uncertainty surrounding how the 2019 put-call agreement between Comcast and Disney will be honored, has left stakeholders speculating about Hulu’s future.
Both Comcast and Disney have been sending out mixed signals about the agreement, both seemingly unwilling to buy the other out.
When online rumors sprung up about Comcast finalizing a deal to remove NBCUniversal content from Hulu before 2024, Comcast chief financial officer Mike Cavanagh said the company was not planning an early exit from “great business” Hulu.
“We’re happy to be along for that ride,” Cavanagh had said in October. “I’m glad we didn’t exit at the time three or so years ago [during the Disney-Fox merger]. I like the deal we have…It’ll be fine if we stay until the end because I expect the value to keep increasing.”
However, in recent comments made at a Morgan Stanley conference, the Comcast president hinted that they will “happily” be bought out of their share by Disney or anyone who offers a better deal than what they have in mind.
Disney CEO Bob Igar, on the other hand, said in February that his company may not be interested in buying out Comcast’s share, but rather would be willing to sell their majority share to them instead.
Seemingly unphased by Comcast and NBCUniversal’s decision to pull high-profile shows off the service, a Hulu spokesperson said in a statement: “With the proliferation of streaming services entering the marketplace, we have long anticipated changes to our third-party content offering and over the past few years have increased our investment in original content.”
Citing Only Murders in the Building, Dopesick, Reservation Dogs, How I Met Your Father and feature documentary Summer of Soul, they further added: “We continue to transform Hulu into an exclusive home for stories from across The Walt Disney Company and beyond to bring our viewers even more premium content led by Hulu Originals and next-day television programming.”
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Peacock, which began in mid-2020, has so far attracted 16 million premium users, both as a standalone service and as part of a pay-TV or internet package. Total monthly active use has reached 24.5 million accounts, exceeding original predictions.
In the company’s most recent earnings conference, executives stated that they aim to increase expenditure and make bolder actions in order to capitalize on current subscriber enthusiasm. Peacock’s initial focus when it began was on its free, ad-supported tier, in part because Covid disrupted a number of premium offers, ranging from the Olympics to Premier League soccer to scripted originals.
NBCUniversal chief executive Jeff Shell, on the other hand, has said that Peacock is “heading in the right direction.” NBCU is “really pleased with Peacock,” Shell said of its 24.5 million subscribers. “We’re way ahead of where we expected to be at this point.”
Regardless of the back and forth, Wall Street analysts have suggested that the parties may negotiate an early departure, although the motivation is considerably greater for Disney given that Hulu’s value should continue to rise. As of January, Hulu had 45.3 million subscribers, according to Disney’s most recent quarterly financial report.
However, the back and forth between Comcast and Disney may be having a negative impact on other stakeholders, such as TBS. As it did not go unnoticed by fans that TBS did not announce a streaming partner or date when the TV premiere date for Season 18 of American Dad was made public.
In the meanwhile, viewers are advised to not let the uncertainty mar their Hulu experience so here’s a list of best shows on Hulu and the way to stream them on Hulu outside US.
