Inside the complex NBC-Disney Hulu divorce

By MixDex Article may include affiliate links

NBCUniversal and Disney announced a rather complex deal that is essentially the beginning of a divorce.

• In many ways, the Disney-NBC Hulu deal involves a variety of compromises, conditions and concessions from both sides.
• NBC is agreeing to give Disney immediate control over the service.
• In exchange, NBC will get to charge Hulu a higher rate for its channels on the Hulu Live service.
• NBC also gets the option to start offering content currently exclusive to Hulu on its own yet-to-be-launched streaming service set for a 2020 launch after one year.
• Hulu, in the meantime, gets to take advantage of a lower licensing fee from NBC for this content.
• NBC will also get the option, after three years, to end most of its licensing agreements with Hulu.
• In addition, NBC can essentially force the sale of its 33% stake in Hulu in 2024.
• NBC is also guaranteed $5.8 billion for its stake — even if Hulu is valued at less than that.
• That sale price would put Hulu’s valuation at at least $27.5 billion.