Posted in: Disney+, Hulu, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: comcast, disney, hulu, seth macfarlane, The Orville

The Orville: Here's Why September 30th Could Be A Very Important Date

Here's how a very important date for Disney and Comcast when it comes to Hulu could also be an important date for The Orville fans.

When we last checked in with how things were going with Seth MacFarlane's The Orville, Editor/Producer Tom Costantino was sharing some looks at the series in honor of the sixth anniversary of its premiere. Now, our focus shifts back to the here and now – with today being the 407th day since the finale of the third season. With everything going on with the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, there's been some news that's hit recently that may have gotten lost in the mix – but it's news that could be very relevant to the show's future voyages.

Earlier this month, we learned from Comcast CEO Brian Roberts that Comcast & The Walt Disney Company were looking to wrap up The Mouse's expected buyout of Comcast's one-third stake in Hulu. Noting that both sides "wanted to get this behind us," Roberts revealed that an agreement was reached during the previous week to move the timeline from January 2024 to the end of September. On September 30th, the two parties begin the process of transferring stake ownership with a "put/call" procedure. From there, each party's appraiser and a third-party appraiser meet to determine the value of the Hulu stake (essentially, how much Disney will have to pay).

Of course, there's the matter of what the final price tag will end up being once the dust settles on the appraisal process. During the Goldman Sachs conference, Roberts dialed back on the original $27.5B minimum valuation that had been rumbling around for the past few months. Referring to the number as "just a hypothetical," Roberts expects the value to top that based on the streamer's worth being "way more today than it was" five years ago when the agreement first came into play. "Netflix and Hulu are in a class by themselves," Robert added, referencing how Hulu's engagement is second only to Netflix among streaming services. In addition – and an important point as The Mouse looks to build upon its budling options – Disney fully folding Hulu into its bigger-picture streaming plans also "reduces churn by half" when it comes to the options available moving forward.

So why does all of this matter to The Orville fans? Even before the strikes came into play, the streaming services (and the media companies that own many of them) were facing some harsh financial realities when it came to how they've been conducting their streaming businesses. That's led to a lot of content and employment cuts across the board at companies like Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and others. It's also led to a lot of speculation about what the future of Hulu would be – with rumblings ranging from Hulu being absorbed into Disney+ to Disney looking to sell it to the highest bidder. Even Disney CEO Bob Iger dropped some question marks about the company's future with Hulu earlier this year – but The Mouse began warming up to the idea of assuming ownership as the months rolled along. But if we're nearing an answer to the Hulu question and some stability on that front could be coming sooner rather than later, then we could also be one step closer to an answer on The Orville – if Hulu is a major factor (though we know it's not the only factor) in the decision-making process.

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