Someone Actually Wants to Buy Hulu for $500 Million

Hulu owners have an offer on the table from a real person offering real money to purchase the streaming television service, but the price tag is significantly lower than the last time the company was for sale.

Hulu owners have an offer on the table from a real person offering real money to purchase the streaming television service, but the price tag is significantly lower than the last time the company was for sale. Reuters reports Peter Chernin -- a former News Corp. president and former Hulu board member -- offered $500 million to buy the streaming service he used to have a hand in running. It would be a roundabout journey for Chernin. He would be taking Hulu off the hands of News Corp. and Disney, the site's current owners. There are other offers on the table, Reuters cautions. Disney and News Corp. may just buy each other out. But the company did reach out to potential suitors last month to gauge interest, so it would seem they prefer the clean break Chernin is offering. Other potential Hulu sales have faltered because buyers weren't sure of the site's continued success, so a bid from a former board member like Chernin would imply he's bullish on the company's potential.

Their financials have been fairly solid since then, which would help a sale's potential. The last big round of Hulu sale talks happened in 2011, even though it seems like an annual tradition. The site was reportedly courting bids from Apple, Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft at the time and running for a price tag around $2 billion. So, things have fallen off in recent years in terms of the offers received. Who knows if this one plays out. At least they would be keeping it within the family.