NBCUniversal has ended its content deal with Hulu, re-routing Saturday Night Live and a number of other marquee titles to its own streaming service, Peacock.
The shift, which is set to take effect in September, is not a surprise and comes after weeks of speculation. While it was not formally announced, it was confirmed to Deadline by multiple people familiar with the decision.
NBCU was an original partner in Hulu when it launched in 2007 but current parent Comcast is unwinding its relationship to the service, which is now operated by its majority owner, Disney. Comcast retains a financial stake in Hulu through 2024, with a buyout not an easy maneuver to pull off given the rapid appreciation of streaming overall. Wall Streeters have speculated that the parties could negotiate an early exit, but the incentive is much more Disney’s given that the value of Hulu should continue to appreciate.
Starting this fall, shows including SNL, The Voice and American Auto will not be available to stream on Hulu the day after they air. The full roster of programming shifting to Peacock has not yet been finalized, given that it is a complex web of next-day broadcast rights, cable and studio titles, movies and library fare.
Certain high-profile titles will remain on Hulu for years to come, of course, and the door remains open for future licensing deals between the companies. Hulu still has rights into the future for many film catalog titles and series like Law & Order: SVU, This Is Us, The Mindy Project, 30 Rock, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights and Will & Grace.
The move comes amid ever-heightening stakes in streaming. Peacock, which launched in mid-2020, has drawn 16 million premium subscribers thus far from both stand-alone customers and those who have it bundled in with their pay-TV or broadband packages. Overall monthly active use is at 24.5 million accounts, which is ahead of initial projections. Executives said on the company’s most recent earnings call that they intend to boost spending and make bolder moves in order to take advantage of recent subscriber momentum. The initial focus of Peacock when it launched was on its free, ad-supported tier, in part because a number of premium offerings, from the Olympics to Premier League soccer to scripted originals were waylaid by Covid.
Hulu had 45.3 million subscribers at the start of January, Disney said in its most recent quarterly financial report.
“With the proliferation of streaming services entering the marketplace, we have long anticipated changes to our third-party content offering and over the past few years have increased our investment in original content,” a Hulu spokesperson told Deadline in a statement, citing Only Murders in the Building, Dopesick, Reservation Dogs, How I Met Your Father and feature documentary Summer of Soul. “We continue to transform Hulu into an exclusive home for stories from across The Walt Disney Company and beyond to bring our viewers even more premium content led by Hulu Originals and next-day television programming.”
Reps from Comcast and NBCU did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment.
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