Google Is Getting Close to Buying Hulu. Has “Big Ideas” for It

[Malvado]

​

Six companies have been included in the formal bidding for Hulu, and 3 of those are Google, Amazon and Yahoo. Google, apparently, is the main favorite in the bidding, although Amazon is a strong contender, and Yahoo is just kept around for the show to help increase the biding. I doubt the Hulu CEO and owners would want Hulu to be owned by Yahoo, unless they actually intend to get it killed to preserve their offline profits. Amazon is kind of a favorite because the current Hulu CEO has worked for Amazon before, but that might not matter much because the owners of Hulu will have a bigger say in this than he does. Google is not only considered a favorite in the bidding, but they are also one of the few who keeping bidding high right now. They have more money than Amazon, so if they really want it, Google will get Hulu.

SOURCE: Google Is Getting Close to Buying Hulu. Has “Big Ideas” for It

 

[Sweettooth]

Forget divide and conquer; assimilate all and conquer. Surely I'm not the only one who sees Google getting calleded out for becoming a monopoly one of these days. Not to mention I'm sure they'll end up being or funding the real life Cyberdyne Systems...but until then, go Google!

 

[johnomaz]

Forget divide and conquer; assimilate all and conquer. Surely I'm not the only one who sees Google getting calleded out for becoming a monopoly one of these days. Not to mention I'm sure they'll end up being or funding the real life Cyberdyne Systems...but until then, go Google!

I dunno, Google has its hands in a ton of markets that has competition. Its not like they but everything to force out that one remaining little guy. Netflix is still around and it's a good competitor. Apple has their paid rental service too. If anything, it'll make the others try harder.

That being said, I think it would be good for Amazon to buy it too. Amazon has really got its feet planted firm in several industries and I don't see them going anywhere for a while either. I'd probably reactivate my HuluPlus account if some cool changes happened with Hulu after the purchase. But for now, I've caught up on all the shows I watch and watched past shows that no longer air that I have wanted to.

 

[kodiak799]

I think you have to love a lot of what Google and Apple are doing, and the consumer is winning. Still, these companies are becoming very, very large and powerful. The DOJ (and it's European counterpart) are increasingly scrutinizing every deal in more and more minutiae. What I'm saying is, I don't know that such a deal for Hulu will get approved. On the other hand, online services like Hulu and Netflix are really under pressure as the cable companies are proving to be quite nimble and competitive. So one could argue a Google deal is really necessary for Hulu's long-term survival.

 

[DaWolf85]

Forget divide and conquer; assimilate all and conquer. Surely I'm not the only one who sees Google getting calleded out for becoming a monopoly one of these days. Not to mention I'm sure they'll end up being or funding the real life Cyberdyne Systems...but until then, go Google!

This is not a monopoly expansion; it's a lateral expansion rather than a vertical expansion. That is, Google is expanding into a new market rather than taking over an existing market. It's not anti-competitive since Google was not in this market before.
The amount of markets a company is in does not constitute monopoly, rather, the dominance in specific markets constitutes monopoly. If they don't have 70% of the market share, it's not a monopoly. They can be in 70% of all the markets in the world, but that's not a monopoly until they have 70% market share in some markets. Likewise, you can't claim it's anti-competitive when a company expands into a new market, because they weren't competing in the market to begin with.

Call it Big Brother, call it domination, but it's not anti-competitive and it's not a monopoly.

 

[northendtrooper]

How much is the bid?

Sent from my Charge using DroidForums

 

[steveninspokane]

It will be Googledyne.

I just hope they get the ting with Hulu figured out so that it will be able to stream online episodes of The Dog Whisperer.

 

[GBH2]

It will be Googledyne.

I just hope they get the ting with Hulu figured out so that it will be able to stream online episodes of The Dog Whisperer.

It is going to be Googlululola!

 

[npro1464]

I, torn on the ,eager thing as well. On one hand, Google owning Hulu could only benefit Android users, and would provide services for a reasonable rate. On the other, Google is getting really freakin big. While it's not technically a monopoly, it still is anti-competitive and has a negative effect on prices and jobs in one way or another.

Amazon could work, but they already have a streaming service, so it might negatively effect competition even more than a Google takeover would. And Yahoo or Microsoft owning Hulu would be a disaster...

 

[kodiak799]

This is not a monopoly expansion; it's a lateral expansion rather than a vertical expansion. That is, Google is expanding into a new market rather than taking over an existing market. It's not anti-competitive since Google was not in this market before.
The amount of markets a company is in does not constitute monopoly, rather, the dominance in specific markets constitutes monopoly. If they don't have 70% of the market share, it's not a monopoly. They can be in 70% of all the markets in the world, but that's not a monopoly until they have 70% market share in some markets. Likewise, you can't claim it's anti-competitive when a company expands into a new market, because they weren't competing in the market to begin with.

Call it Big Brother, call it domination, but it's not anti-competitive and it's not a monopoly.

While that's all true, the internet/technology is blurring the lines between many industries, and the DOJ is certainly starting to take a more liberal view of anti-trust. But I think, ultimately, Hulu competes with the cable operators and Netflix and probably will not survive alone, so Google buying them is probably good for competition.

 

[Viktorr]

Google needs to take a step back and think about things. History is a ***** but it can come back to bite you...hard. I like what Google provides and support it but as a consumer I need to advise caution in this market. Google is making moves, and it may be moving too quickly, without real guidance. IMHO, Google needs to make a stop and assess things comprehensively, then make cautious moves for now. The DoJ is watching now. This is a warning.

 

[slinky]

The DOJ allowed Google to purchase both Doubleclick and Admob after it owned how much of the market with Adsense? Hulu is a blip on the radar in comparison.

 

[sranger]

Google is going to lose big time if they buy Hulu.....

Hulu, like Google TV, is worthless without content. The content providers will pull programming shortly after the sale just like they did to kill google TV in the first place.


A VERY BAD MOVE by Google......

 

[JerseyFirefighter]

Google is skynet... They'll figure it out.

 

[FX4]

Google is skynet... They'll figure it out.

Isn't that the truth.