How To Buy Hulu Stock

What is Hulu?

Hulu provides streaming and on-demand videos. The streaming service originally started as a joint venture between broadcast networks as it worked to develop its audience on shows from ABC, NBC, and Fox. Today, Hulu is fully controlled by its majority owner, The Walt Disney Company (DIS).

Hulu’s primary focus is streaming original content and some newer TV shows. In addition to award-winning originals, like the “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu streams current and old shows from NBC, ABC, Fox, CBS, and the Food Network.

In the last quarter of 2021, Hulu reported having 43.8 million paid subscribers — up from 36.6 million the year before. But, it still lags pretty far behind Netflix (NFLX), which has more than 200 million global subscribers.

Hulu offers the following subscription tiers to cater to different viewer preferences:

• Basic Hulu: $6.99/month
• Hulu (No ads): $12.99/month
• Hulu + Live TV: $69.99/month
• Hulu + Live TV + Live Ads: $75.99/month
• Hulu and ESPN+: $13.99/month with ads, $18.99 without ads

Hulu’s content offerings can best be broken into the following categories:

Original Content

From January 2011 to April 2014, Hulu streamed an in-house web series, The Morning After, which was a pop culture news show. This was the company’s first foray into producing a show, as they were previously primarily a content distributor.

In January of 2012, the company announced it would soon air its first original scripted show, Battleground. The show aired on Hulu’s free web service instead of the paid subscription-based Hulu Plus.

Also, in January 2012, Hulu announced a new six-part reality series, The Fashion Fund. The winner received $300,000 to kickstart their fashion career. Keeping with the momentum of original programming, Hulu then announced seven original programs, including Battleground, Day in the Life, Don’t Quit Your Daydream, Flow, and Up to Speed.

In March 2016, Lionsgate and Hulu announced a joint acquisition of distribution rights for the film Joshy.

Hulu’s first documentary acquisition came in May 2016 with The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.

Content Partners

After beginning its streaming services, Hulu signed deals with a number of content providers to make more material available on the platform.

In April 2009, Disney announced it was joining the venture by purchasing 27% of the company.

In August 2011, Hulu viewers looking for Fox content started being required to authenticate a paid cable or satellite subscription to watch Fox content the morning after it aired on Fox. People without a paid cable subscription would have to wait a week to watch the same content.

Hulu started to establish relationships with record labels in order to host music videos and concert performances in-platform in 2009.

Hulu On-Demand

In 2010, Hulu’s paid subscription service, Hulu Plus, was launched.

The service still had ads but offered an expanded content library with full seasons and day-after access to shows that were airing on cable.

By the end of 2011, about 1.5 million people subscribed to Hulu Plus. Five years later, Hulu announced it was discontinued the branding “Hulu Plus.”

Hulu + Live TV 

In 2016, Hulu announced it would offer live programming from broadcast and cable brands. Networks that partnered with the platform to offer live content included:

• Fox
• Fox Sports
• Fox News Channel
• FX Networks
• Disney
• ESPN
• ESPN 2
• Disney Junior
• Disney XD
• Freeform
• Turner Broadcasting System (TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, CNN, HLN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang)
• NBCUniversal (Bravo, NBC, Oxygen, Telemundo)
• A+E Networks (A&E, History, Lifetime)
• Scripps Networks Interactive (Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel)

In 2018, Hulu + Live TV added:

• Discovery Networks (Discovery, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet)

In 2021, Hulu + Live TV added:

• ViacomCBS (BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, CMT, TV Land)

Is Hulu A Publicly Traded Stock?

Unfortunately, despite its popularity, Hulu is not a publicly-traded stock. Disney owns Hulu, and shares of Disney are available to trade on the stock market. So, if you’re really eager to get involved with Hulu, investing in Disney stock is a close second.

The company planned an IPO in the past, but it never moved forward. On August 16th, 2010, a report surfaced that revealed Hulu was planning an initial IPO offering.

Then, in June 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported “unsolicited offer” caused Hulu to begin “weighing whether to sell itself.” And then, in October of 2011, the company’s owners announced they did not accept any of the proposed offers.

Fast forward to 2022, and it’s unlikely the company will ever be available on the stock market because Hulu aligns perfectly with Disney’s content strategy. As Disney continues to amplify its digital content via its streaming platforms, including Hulu and Disney+, it’s unlikely they want to lose those revenue streams.

How Do I Buy Hulu Stock?

While you can’t buy Hulu Stock since it’s not a privately-owned entity, you can purchase stock in its parent companies, Disney. We’ll have more on how to do this later on in the article.

What Company Owns Hulu?

NBC Universal and News Corporation founded Hulu as a joint venture partnership.

Disney (30%) and Providence Equity Partners (10%) later came on as other major shareholders. The current majority shareholder is Disney, but that’s changed a lot since its launch in 2007. 

Is Hulu 100% Owned By Disney?

In 2013, News Corporation’s shares were purchased by 21st Century Fox. Eventually, Disney bought those shares for $71.3 billion.

Similarly, AT&T also sold its stake in the company (10%) the month after the Disney deal. Since then, Disney and Comcast have taken over as the company’s two major owners, with Disney planning to buy Comcast’s complete share by 2024 in order to have 100% ownership of the company with a nearly $30 billion valuation. 

Does Hulu Own Netflix?

No, Hulu does not own Netflix.

Hulu is owned by Comcast, and Disney does not have an individual owner or parent company.

Alternatives To Hulu Stock:

Although Hulu is not a publicly-traded company, there are still profit opportunities that its owner Disney offers to investors as Disney’s interest in streaming is not limited to only Hulu.

If you’re bummed that you can’t invest in Hulu, don’t be too disappointed. Here are three stocks you can invest in instead:

1. Disney — As of last year, The Walt Disney Company’s valuation is more than $130 billion. After the much anticipated 2019 release of Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, tens of millions of people worldwide rushed to sign up to get access to Disney classics and new originals. Within its first year, Disney+ became the second biggest subscription streaming service — Netflix remains #1. Disney owns Hulu and ESPN+. What’s interesting is that because of the high costs to create such a broad library of content, Disney does not expect to turn a profit on Disney+, Hulu, or ESPN+ for many more years. Disney is still profitable overall, however. From theme parks and merchandising to broadcast television and in-house production and technology, Disney has access to plenty of cash flow to invest in new content without worrying about accruing excessive losses.
2. Netflix — Netflix is by far the largest streaming service, topping out at more than 200 million subscribers. Netflix is a revolving door of content, including classics, award-winning original films and TV series, documentaries, and even music. Netflix is focused on growing its global presence.
3. Comcast — As a long-standing power broker of the internet and cable business and the largest cable TV provider in the U.S., Comcast fortified its leading position when it bought NBC Universal — and all of its content and theme parks. Comcast’s biggest growth driver is its high-speed internet services. The company, along with other TV providers, is expected to ramp up wireless promotions this year in the wake of slowed broadband growth. Comcast owns 33% of Hulu, so when you invest in Comcast, you are technically investing in Hulu. Investing in Comcast also costs less than investing in Disney.

Besides investing in Hulu’s parent companies or other streaming services, you can also look at other investing opportunities. If you’re looking for a higher risk and higher reward, there are plenty of emerging company stocks available on the market. Or, if you’re looking for something more safe and secure, you can check out dividend aristocrats and kings. 

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