Hulu, Disney’s streaming stepchild and a fixation of activist investors Nelson Peltz and Dan Loeb, has long been an object of industry fascination—almost like a strategic port in war. The platform, which launched in the wake of the iPhone, Netflix streaming, and the direct-to-consumer revolution, found backers and partial owners in a few companies, including NBCUniversal, Fox, and Disney. Disney ultimately became the controlling owner after it acquired the 21st Century Fox assets.
Then, in 2019, with its streaming ambitions growing, Disney agreed to acquire the rest of Hulu from Comcast, NBCU’s parent company, as early as 2024. (They also bought out Time Warner.) Now that arranged marriage is under renewed focus. Peltz, the Trian Partners investor now pointing his proxy missiles at Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger, said in a viral CNBC interview last week that the company should buy it out pronto or get out of the streaming industry altogether.
