Hulu $500 Million Bid Rumored

A $500 million Hulu bid? That’s the rumor flying around the business community, after a Reuters report based on the claims of two unidentified persons that reporters Ronald Grover and Jennifer Saba described as “two sources with knowledge of Hulu’s sale process.” According to that claim, Peter Chernin, a co-founder and former board member of the online streaming service, has submitted the bid — which could go even higher based on additional considerations like extra content rights.

At the moment, Hulu has two controlling owners, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and Walt Disney Co. Alleged $500 million Hulu bidder Chernin is also a former News Corp. president who left that job in 2009 to form his own media company, Chernin Group, which invests in TV and other media in the US and Asia.

Many of us might know Peter Chernin better as the producer of the 2011 hit movie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was the first feature produced by the Chernin Group — less than three years after his departure from News Corp. That film opened with a triumph when it raked in a mind-boggling $54 million on its debut weekend, probably thanks in no small part to the dazzling special effects which made the apes look very, very real.

Hulu itself isn’t an overnight success, but it’s certainly a rising star.

Although still a distant runner-up to competitor Netflix, it continues to grow rapidly. In Jan. 2012, Hulu reported almost 1.2 paying subscribers. They now have more than 3 million. Last year’s revenues were $700 million.

It isn’t the first time that Hulu has sought a buyer. A rumored Google bid in 2011 went nowhere.

However, for the moment, nobody’s talking for the record — not Disney, not News Corp., not Hulu, and not Chernin. According to Reuters, that’s because the bidding is private, not public.

Only time will tell if the rumored $500 million Hulu bid is the real deal.

[photo Peter Chernin, rumored Hulu bidder, by Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com]