to make that asset work because NBC, Fox, ABC are not going to give you a great deal anymore on their own content.

A first round of bids had involved a handful of prospective buyers, and a second narrowed the suitors down to DirecTV and a partnership of AT&T and the Chernin Group, according to media reports. Time Warner Cable also was reported to be interested in Hulu, but as a partner with its current owners rather than as an outright buyer.

In 2011, Hulu's owners, which then included Providence Equity Partners, called off a sale of the service. Concerns over post-sale access to content reportedly led to some potential buyers backing away from the bidding process.

Here's today's press release in full:

21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal and The Walt Disney Companyachieved record revenues of $690 million that same year.

About the author

Edward Moyer is an associate editor at CNET News and a many-year veteran of the writing and editing world. He enjoys taking sentences apart and putting them back together. He also likes making them from scratch.
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