It seems like we might better understand why Disney CEO Bob Iger switched gears from looking to sell Hulu to embracing it, and why Disney is rolling Hulu into the Disney+ app.

They might be on the hook to buy the remaining 1/3 from Comcast after all.

It seems that the CEO of Comcast is keen to just stick Disney with the bill for the remainder of Hulu, so the Mouse House might just have to make due.

From The Hollywood Reporter…

“I think we have a very valuable position,” Roberts told the MoffettNathanson Inaugural Technology, Media and Telecom conference during a session that was webcast. The NBCUniversal owner and pay TV, media and technology giant has to decide on the future of its one-third stake in Hulu, while potentially using a put option that would require Disney, which owns the remaining two-thirds, to take over its minority stake.

“I think it’s more likely than not … that we’ll put the call at the beginning of next year,” the Comcast CEO said with an eye to an earlier agreement that would allow the studio to exercise a right to sell its Hulu stake at a negotiated price.

Roberts also added that Comcast shareholders could benefit greatly from the nearly $30 billion Disney reportedly has to cough up for the remainder of the streaming site.

“I’m pretty certain that when we sell our Hulu stake, it’ll be for more than what we have in it. In fact, that’s contractually certain,” he stated.

The question is, with their stock dropping, movies underperforming and debt mounting… does Disney even have that kind of money laying around? Or is Comcast counting on sticking it to Disney to hobble their biggest rival in theme parks and animation?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter