Microsoft has apparently informed Hulu that it would not be interested in any further discussions regarding a acquisition, after weeks of negotiations. This pretty much leaves Yahoo as the top contender to purchase Hulu.
At the beginning of this month, we reported that Microsoft was in talks about a possible acquisition of Hulu. Hulu, a subscription-based service offering on-demand streaming of TV shows, videos, and movies, is a hot buy as numerous companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, and Apple have been trying to purchase it.
According to Bloomberg, more than ten companies have approached Hulu with offers. Hulu began “shopping around” and had discussions with companies such as Google and AT&T, but it is unclear how serious those companies were. Yahoo, on the other hand, is very serious about the purchase and has offered $2 billion for the acquisition, as long as Yahoo gets to have exclusive rights to all tv content on the service for up to five years.
Microsoft, however, did not seem as interested as we all thought. Those in support for Hulu being purchased by Microsoft argued that the company could offer exclusive tv content though Xbox Live. Microsoft is already in talks with major cable tv providers about providing live streaming movies through the Xbox Live service.
