Apple is mulling an acquisition of US-based online video service Hulu, according to a Bloomberg report. The news agency reported that Apple is in early talks that may lead to an offer for Hulu, quoting ‘two people who weren’t authorized to speak publicly’. 25/07/2011 The move could give Apple a strong rival to US online […]
Apple is mulling an acquisition of US-based online video service Hulu, according to a Bloomberg report. The news agency reported that Apple is in early talks that may lead to an offer for Hulu, quoting ‘two people who weren’t authorized to speak publicly’.
25/07/2011
The move could give Apple a strong rival to US online video market leader Netflix.
Hulu’s media- company owners, Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and Comcast’s NBC Universal, are offering suitors a five-year extension of program rights, including two years of exclusive access, people familiar with the matter said earlier this week.
Cash rich Apple has over $75 bn of reserves, some of which could be used for buying Hulu which would give the iPhone maker a new subscription video service to compliment the firm’s iTunes store.
Bloomberg said buying Hulu could cost Apple as much as $2 billion.
Apple lead a consortium that bought defunct tech firm Nortel’s pool of 6,000 patents covering 4G, wireless, data networking and more.
Apple paid $2.6 billion out of the $4.5 billion total. The purchase is expected to provide valuable ammunition in the ongoing patent disputes between smartphone manufacturers.
