Hulu Making Original Content Push Now That Disney Is In Charge
Now that Disney is in charge of Hulu, you can expect even more original content from the Emmy-winning streaming service. Following their 21st Century Fox acquisition, Disney holds a controlling stake in Hulu, which apparently gives the platform more incentive to boost its original content output, which includes award-winning titles like The Handmaid's Tale, The Looming Tower, and more.
Hulu CEO Randy Freer told CNBC that now that Disney is overseeing the service, Hulu's "investment in original programming will increase significantly." Freer credits the shift to "the capacity inside of the Walt Disney Company" to invest in creatives and original stories, adding:
"When you look at the capacity inside of the Walt Disney Company to create content, the IP that's there, the access we'll have with that is, you know, terrific. We are going to be able to invest more and invest more upstream and find the best stories and the best creators to make shows for the company."
With a titan like Disney guiding Hulu, the burden of business may be lifted from the streaming service, which lost $920 million in 2017. While the service has seen critical success with original shows like the Emmy Award-winning Handmaid's Tale as well as Catch 22, Ramy, The Act, Pen 15, and Shrill, it still doesn't rival its biggest competitor and the current streaming giant, Netflix, which has more than double the subscriber base.
But with Disney's backing, it's likely Hulu doesn't have to worry about financial losses and can focus solely on the original content market, which is where it's currently beating Netflix in terms of awards prestige. The Disney creative archive certainly helps too — Hulu also announced two new Marvel shows Ghost Rider and Helstrom. While it's difficult to tell whether Hulu can get anywhere near the factory-sized output of original content that Netflix keeps churning out (and if they do, god help us TV binge-watchers), but its live-TV feature as well as its option for ad-supported viewing puts it a leg up above other streaming services Warner Bros. and Comcast prepare to enter the streaming game.