The online streaming market is now dominated by giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime, but it’s clear that Time Warner is trying to insert itself more into the game-just not too far. Actress Sarah Gadon attends the premiere of Hulu original series 11.22.63, in Westwood, California, on February 11.
Advertisement
Picture credits: ThinkStockTime Warner Inc. acquired a 10% stake in Hulu LLC, casting an eye to the future of TV even as its second-quarter results proved there’s still plenty of life in the traditional cable model. The company has also developed a web-only version of HBO, which now has more 1 million subscribers. This recent consensus has increased the worth of Hulu to an estimated $5.8 billion.
Under the deal Hulu will obtain online rights to Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting entertainment, sports, news and kids networks including TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies, not only for video-on-demand but for Hulu’s new live-streaming TV service that is due to be launched early in 2017.
As more families and individuals are running away from cable TV, Time Warner is finding its way to online video services led by Netflix and Amazon. Hulu’s equity owners already include The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, and Comcast but, unlike those companies, Time Warner won’t be contributing programming to Hulu’s existing service.
The deal also doesn’t include content from Tome Warner-owned HBO, which launched its own standalone service a year ago. Mike Hopkins, the chief executive of Hulu, said the partnerships including that from Time Warner is a “major step” for the company.
New York-based Time Warner Inc. also announced Wednesday that net income for the April-July quarter fell 2 percent to $952 million, or $1.20 per share, from $971 million, or $1.16 per share a year ago. On an adjusted basis, when taking out one-time gains and costs, earnings came to $1.29 per share, topping Street estimates of $1.16, according to Thomson Reuters. But the companies did not specify which Time Warner shows will be added to Hulu’s current offerings of on-demand shows.
Advertisement
Time Warner raised full-year guidance to an expected $5.35 to $5.45 earnings per share.
