Former News Corp. President Reportedly Places $500 Million Bid For Hulu

It is no secret that Disney and News Corp. have been looking into selling video-streaming service Hulu, with sources having dropped information over the past weeks about what is happening behind the scenes. Word had it the two companies were, at one point, looking at buying out the other to take control of the service, and then sources said they were entertaining potential buyers. Now individuals who are said to be familiar with the happenings have stated that News Corps.' former president has placed a bid.

Peter Chernin was one of the individuals responsible for the early days of Hulu, and now it seems, if the sources are correct, that he has returned with a bid for the service. Chernin left Hulu back in 2009 to start The Chernin Group, which has holdings in a number of companies, including the popular online music streaming service Pandora.

His bid is said to be approximately $500 million, but neither his people, Disney, or News Corp. would comment on the rumor. Word has it that Disney and News Corp. have reached out to multiple potential buyers, but the two sources who provided this information do not know if any other bids have been placed for Hulu. All of this comes as methods for monetizing the service and taking it in a solid direction have been pondered.

Per past sources, News Corp. was leaning towards a model for Hulu that involved subscriptions as the primary way of monetizing the service, using something like the currently-implemented Hulu Plus service. Disney had different ideas, however, leaning more towards an advertisement-based model that would depend on advertisements, something the service also utilizes. For a long while, the two companies were unsure of whether they would sell the service, but if the sources are correct, it would seem they are close to making a decision.

[via Reuters]