NBCUniversal has terminated its content deal with Hulu, redirecting Saturday Night Live and a number of other titles to its own streaming service, Peacock.
The change, which is due to take effect in September, comes as no surprise and comes after weeks of speculation. Although it was not officially announced, it was confirmed to Deadline by many people familiar with the decision.
NBCU was an original partner at Hulu when it launched in 2007, but Comcast’s current mother is breaking up with the service, which is now run by its majority owner, Disney. Comcast retains a financial stake in Hulu until 2024, and the buyout is not an easy maneuver, given the rapid rise in streaming in general. People on Wall Street speculate that the parties could agree on an early exit, but the incentive is much greater than Disney, given that the value of Hulu must continue to grow.
From this fall, the shows, including SNL, The Voice and American Auto, will not be available for streaming on Hulu the day after they air. The full list of programs moving to Peacock has not yet been finalized, as it is a complex network of next-day broadcasting rights, cable and studio titles, movies and library tickets.
This move comes amid rising stakes in streaming. Peacock, which launched in mid-2020, has so far attracted 16 million first-class subscribers, both from stand-alone customers and those who include it in their pay-TV or broadband packages. The total monthly active usage is 24.5 million accounts, which is ahead of initial estimates. Executives said in a recent call on the company’s profits that they intend to increase costs and take bolder moves to take advantage of recent impetus from subscribers. Peacock’s initial focus when it launched was on its free, ad-supported level, in part because a number of first-rate offerings, from the Olympics to Premier League football to the original scripts, were blocked by Covid.
Hulu had 45.3 million subscribers in early January, Disney said in its latest quarterly financial report.
Representatives of Comcast, NBCU, Hulu and Disney did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment.