Yahoo is currently remaking itself with a focus on mobile products, but it also hopes to dive into streaming video soon. AllThingsD is reporting that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has met with Hulu executives. Eyeballing the acquisition of a video streaming business isn't new for Yahoo. In April, the company was close to buying a $200 million stake in Dailymotion, but the French government shot down Yahoo's plans. So far, AllThingsD says, talks between the two companies are still in the preliminary stages and no initial offer has been made.
Yahoo's interest is merely the latest in a long string of buyout rumors as word persists that Disney and News Corp. want to shed their ownership stake in Hulu. Former News Corp. executive Peter Chernin is said to be interested in buying a piece of Hulu by way of his investment company. Amazon has also expressed interest, as has Guggenheim Digital Media, which is led by one-time interim Yahoo CEO Ross Levinsohn, AllThingsD reported.
You're only as good as your content
On paper, the match up between Yahoo and Hulu makes sense. Yahoo's is increasingly defining itself as a content provider — serving up the news, the weather, your email and even your to-do list. Hulu has a ton of great content in the licensing deals it has with Hollywood studios, and its business is growing. In April, the video service announced that it streamed more than one billion movies and TV shows in the first three months of the year. Yahoo knows, as a content provider, you're only as good as your content —and few can match the video Hulu delivers.