The daily business briefing: April 16, 2019

AT&T sells its stake in Hulu, HBO says the Game of Thrones premiere set a ratings record, and more

The HULU logo
(Image credit: Getty Images)

1. AT&T sells its stake in Hulu

Hulu said Monday that AT&T had sold its 9.5 percent stake in the video streaming service for $1.43 billion, leaving Disney and Comcast as Hulu's only remaining owners. The deal valued the company at $15 billion. Disney owns a 60 percent share after acquiring Fox's stake when it bought 21st Century Fox. Some analysts have speculated that Comcast will sell, too, leaving Disney as sole owner. That could result in a greater focus on Disney films and TV shows, and allow Disney to bundle Hulu with its new kid-focused streaming service, Disney+, and its sports service, ESPN+. Hulu's $6-a-month service lets subscribers stream TV shows after they air.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.