Why Verizon should buy Hulu

The search for a Hulu buyer continues, with reports emerging that the company is making pitches to a wide range of media and technology companies. While much of the press so far has focused on the big technology companies — Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and the like — little attention has been paid to the other potential buyers. Verizon, in particular, seems like a good match for the company, as it has shown a willingness to invest in online video, but not at the expense of its traditional FiOS TV business.

Business interests are aligned

Google and others in the tech world are all about innovation and disruption, but that’s not necessarily what ABC, NBC and Fox want from a buyer. With Verizon, they’d be getting a partner that they’re already doing business with. More importantly, both Verizon and the broadcasters have the same interests at hand, and neither will blindly support growth at Hulu at the expense of live TV viewing or fewer people paying for FiOS.

Verizon, therefore, is less likely to balk at crippling terms in Hulu’s recently renegotiated rights deals. Some reports suggest those deals could extend the time between shows being broadcast and becoming available online by up to a week, rather than being up on Hulu the day after they air.

There’s also the belief that broadcasters could start tying next-day access to Hulu shows to their cable subscriptions. Many cable networks already use pay TV subscriber logins to authenticate users, in a scheme referred to as TV Everywhere. But the latest talks suggest that this TV Everywhere plan could be extended to broadcast TV.

While HD over-the-air signals for broadcast TV are free, many broadcasters have begun demanding pay TV operators to pay retransmission fees for access to their shows, in the same way that they pay per-subscriber fees for cable networks. As a result, those operators might demand that Hulu begin authenticating its users in the same way cable networks do.

Google, Amazon, Yahoo and other tech companies might be opposed to such a requirement, as it could affect viewership on the newly acquired site, but it’s actually in Verizon’s best interests to support such a plan. After all, Verizon wants to sign up as many TV Everywhere users as possible, who could then view content from Epix, HBO, Showtime and other networks that have made their content available through the service.

Verizon is betting big on online video

One might ask what Verizon actually gets from Hulu. After all, if the telco is fine with certain rights requirements — like longer windows and authentication — that might limit growth and consumer adoption, and one could argue that it’s not fully committed to growing the online video company as an independent business. If that’s the case, then why buy it at all?

For one thing, this type of move isn’t entirely unprecedented. Comcast purchased Fandango back in 2007 and used it for the basis of its Fancast online video portal, which later became Xfinity TV Online. And let’s not forget: Verizon is essentially an IPTV play, and has been supporting IP video for years. It’s also recently made a number of moves that suggest it could begin getting a lot more aggressive in the online video space in particular. An acquisition of Hulu would merely supplement those already existing initiatives.

Take, for instance, its plan to allow subscribers to purchase video-on-demand titles through the program guide and watch them online or across a number of mobile or connected devices. Or its yet-to-be-released live streaming iPad app. Or its plan to make its streaming VOD service available to users that aren’t even FiOS subscribers, potentially pitting it against iTunes, Amazon Video On Demand and Walmart’s Vudu. All of these efforts show a willingness to jump in to the online video market, and Hulu would be complementary to those services.

Then there’s Verizon’s Digital Media Services initiative. At NAB this year, it was being pitched as a way to simplify the delivery of broadcast video online, while also lowering the cost of distributing to as many devices and platforms as possible. It’s clear that Verizon isn’t just thinking about online video to grow its revenues from the traditional TV or VOD perspective, but that it’s looking at its role as part of the broader ecosystem.

No one else is a good fit

Now that we’ve discussed Verizon’s pros, let’s look at some of the other potential buyers — and why they wouldn’t make such a good fit. Of the aforementioned suitors, there are serious issues with each one:

  • Google is already knee deep in its own work to transform YouTube into a destination for long-form professional and semi-professional content, and any combination of YouTube and Hulu is likely to face serious regulatory scrutiny.
  • Amazon is Hulu CEO Jason Kilar’s former employer, and has invested in a online VOD and subscription video service. But it’s shown no interest in ad-supported video, which is Hulu’s bread and butter.
  • Microsoft has never invested too heavily in digital media properties and seems unlikely to start now.
  • Given Yahoo‘s recent history of acquisitions, it seems clear to most people that a purchase of Hulu could have disastrous results for the site.

In other words, there are plenty of reasons why Hulu might not work with some of the larger tech firms. But there are some very good reasons why a distributor like Verizon would want to buy into a startup like Hulu, even if it is potentially disruptive to the traditional TV business. That’s not to say a Verizon-Hulu mashup would be a slam dunk — but if Verizon were really committed to investing in Hulu’s business as a potential new growth engine, it could be an easy layup.

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