14 DAY TRIAL // Hulu, the popular TV and movie streaming site, is up for sale and several big companies have been interested, including web giants Google, Amazon and Yahoo. But as the initial talks led to the first bids, many dropped out, leaving only four serious contenders.
Now, one more company is out of the race, DirectTV, the satellite TV provider, which apparently made a bid too low to be taken into consideration.
That leaves Amazon, Yahoo and Dish Network interested in the video site, the Financial Times reports.
Hulu has been a hit with internet users in the US, where it's available, thanks to a large selection of quality TV programming offered for free. Some content is only available to subscribers.
Amazon may have the inside track out of the remaining three companies wanting to buy Hulu, since Hulu CEO Jason Kilar was an Amazon exec and is still close to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Amazon could definitely use Hulu, it's already got an online movie and TV show rental service and also a streaming service, but the amount of content Hulu could bring in is substantial.
The site already has quite a large audience. Amazon is doubling down on its efforts to become an online hub for all media content and video is perhaps one of the most enticing market.
With a line of tablets coming soon from Amazon, the first will hit in November at the latest, Hulu content may be another touting point for buying the content-centered Kindle tablet.
Hulu's current owners are said to be looking to get between $1.5 billion to $2 billion for the site. The company is a joint venture between NBC Universal (Comcast), Disney's ABC and Fox along with investment company Providence Equity Partners. Hulu is up for sale because investors and the company's leadership can't agree on future strategy.