Time Warner Taking 10 Percent Stake In Hulu
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NEW YORK (AP) — Time Warner is taking a 10 percent stake in streaming television service Hulu.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Hulu's other equity stakeholders already include Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox and Comcast's NBC Universal. In addition, networks such as TNT, TBS, CNN and Cartoon Network will be available live and on-demand on the live-streaming service that Hulu's expected to launch next year.
Time Warner's deal with Hulu comes almost a month after Comcast said that it's adding Netflix to its X1 set-top boxes in the latest deal to blur the lines separating cable TV from Internet video services. There also may be more competition soon, as U.S. regulators are weighing new requirements that would require the TV industry to allow technology companies such as Google and Apple to sell cable boxes, too. Those boxes have become a major source of revenue for cable providers, generating more than $200 per year in leasing fees in the typical U.S. household.
If cable boxes are sold by technology companies, they will likely feature more Internet applications, stepping up the pressure on incumbent providers to adapt.
New York-based Time Warner Inc. also announced Wednesday that it's boosting its full-year adjusted profit outlook to a range of $5.35 to $5.45 per share. Its prior guidance was for $5.30 to $5.40 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $5.39 per share.
Shares of Time Warner rose more than 3 percent to $78.24 in premarket trading about an hour before the market open.
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