DirecTV in talks to acquire stake in online-video site Hulu

DirecTV, the largest satellite TV provider in the US, is mulling acquiring at least a stake in online-video site Hulu, according to reports in the US media.

According to some reports, DirecTV is in early stage talks to buy a stake or the whole of Hulu, in which Walt Disney Co and News Corp each own about one-third stake, while Comcast Corp gave up its stake under an agreement with regulators to gain approval for its 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal.

In October 2012, Hulu paid private equity firm Providence Equity Partners $200 million for its 10-per cent stake in the company, around the time
Walt Disney Co and News Corp were also considering other options, including buying out each other's stake.

Hulu had earlier in 2011 been put on the auction block by Walt Disney Co and News Corp in which Google, Amazon.com, Yahoo and Dish Network Corp had bid, but the two intending sellers abandoned the sale after concluding that the strategic value of continuing as shareholders far outweighed the benefits of a divestment.

Los Angeles-based Hulu is best known for free online access to popular TV shows from its strategic owners, but, in July 2010, it launched a paid subscription service as a way to expand its offerings to include TV shows from other programming partners like Viacom.

Hulu brings together a large selection of videos from more than 410 content companies, including Fox, NBCUniversal, ABC, The CW, Univision, Criterion, A&E Networks, Lionsgate, Endemol, MGM, MTV Networks, Comedy Central, National Geographic, Digital Rights Group, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., TED and more.

Users can choose from current primetime TV hits such as The Simpsons, Modern Family, Glee, The Office, Jersey Shore, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report; classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The A-Team and Alfred Hitchcock Presents; full episodes and clips from Saturday Night Live.

Hulu's stiffest competitor is Netflix, which counts more than 33 million paying subscribers in the US.

Though Hulu has gained immense popularity, its owners are under increasing pressure from their cable and satellite distribution partners reluctant to pay premium dollars to carry content that is being offered for free on the web.

Further, many programme makers have been reluctant to put their shows up on a free site with an advertising model that has not yet proved itself with premium video.

Hulu posted a 65-per cent rise in revenues last year to about $700 million since paying subscribers more than doubled to 3 million.

Hulu would add to DirecTV's Internet-based on-demand video platform called TV Everywhere platform.