Just kidding! Hulu not up for sale, current owners sticking around

Update: Well, hold the front door for a second.

Turns out that while Hulu may not be up for sale as a whole, there is reportedly talk of selling a stake in the company off to much-maligned Time Warner Cable.

The word comes from three Bloomberg sources with knowledge of the situation, saying a deal could come within two weeks time.

Turns out this wouldn't be TWC's first bid: Previously the company sought to pick up a 25 percent part of Hulu, the sources said.

Original story...

It appears all the drama over which company would be the lucky suitor to court Hulu away from its current ownership group (21st Century Fox, NBC Universal, and the Walt Disney Company) was for naught.

Despite putting the video streaming service up for sale twice in the past two years, the three partners have announced Hulu is officially off the market.

You might remember back in 2011, when Hulu was reported to be available to the bidder with coffers deep enough to afford the $2.2 billion (about £1.68b, AU$2.42b) price tag, but no deal could be reached at that time.

Though Yahoo was thought to have interest in snapping Hulu up after purchasing Tumblr for $1.1 billion (or £728m, AU$1.21b) earlier this year, but apparently its purported $600 million-$800 million (that's £397m-£529m, AU$662m-AU$883m) bid wasn't good enough to sway the current ownership into parting with it.

Win some, Hulu some

Today, Hulu's trifecta of keepers announced the service was staying put, and that a combined $750 million (about £496m, AU$828m) was going to be invested for future growth.

"We believe the best path forward for Hulu is a meaningful recapitalization that will further accelerate its growth under the current ownership structure," said Chase Carey, president and COO of 21st Century Fox.

Carey added the group had seen a variety of investment offers from various other buyers and potential partners, but none quite matched the perceived long-term value.

Launched just five years ago, Hulu already has some 30 million monthly unique visitors, and garnered record revenues of $690 million (£456m, AU$762m) in 2012 after the launch of subscription-based Hulu Plus.

"As its evolution continues, Disney and its partners are committing resources to enable Hulu to achieve its maximum potential," said Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.

Other groups supposedly interested in buying Hulu, such as DirecTV and AT&T, must be getting tired of the hemming and hawing of the current ownership, but at least subscribers can take some solace in learning Hulu will be sticking around in its current form for the foreseeable future.

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