Yahoo's bid for Hulu to be in the range of $600 to $800 million

According to numerous sources that spoke to AllthingsD, Yahoo’s bid for the premium video streaming website Hulu will be in the range of $600 million to $800 million.

The logic behind this wide range is simple, as the company has proposed several different prices based on a variety of factors. Some of these factors include the length of the licensing rights for content and how much control the programming companies that are selling Hulu have on their own media. Many other bidders have also included a range to their bid following the same thought process.

What is most interesting though is that the Hulu deal is just one thing that is cooking in the Yahoo pot right now. As reported, it now seems that the company is considering another set of deals in the range of $150 and $200 million for a mobile and a communications company, respectively.

In light of the earlier Tumblr deal last week, which set back Yahoo $1.1. billion in cash, its definite that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is keeping herself busy. The Hulu deal is clearly an attempt to fix Yahoo’s video efforts, which has been lagging for quite a few years now, and make its presence felt in the Youtube dominated environment.  

Yahoo's bid for Hulu gets a dollar valuation ranging from $600 to $800 M (image credit:digitaltrends)

According to sources though, the CEO is now focused on Yahoo integrating Tumblr into its roster and other acquisitions. Thus, while the bid is proceeding, the effort is being led by Los Angeles-based Ian Weingarten, who is the VP of corporate development.

As reported earlier, Yahoo is not the only party interested in acquiring Hulu, with the roster including big names like the Time Warner, Directv and the Chernin Group. And while the deadline for the bidding process has passed, there could be more bids coming in the near future.

Another bid which has been reported about earlier was Chernin’s bid, which started in the $500 million range. This could be a point that should be noted, because Chernin was erstwhile COO of News Corp and was integral in the process that saw Hulu being created. This bid could be more of an informed decision based on how well Chernin knows the platform and more importantly, how exactly to maximise it potential.

Disney and News Corp have been seen bickering over how Hulu should be run and how it should be sold for years now. However, it is clear that the three companies (including Comcast, which gave up its management rights) provide for Hulu’s most valuable programming, which largely revolve around television shows from their broadcast networks. And the control of those programmes is the most important point of the negotiations.

Sources close to the deal were reported saying that while Hulu was a nice brand and technology, it’s the content and the amount of control the bidders have on it that really matter. The price that Disney, News Corp and Comcast set on the content is another point that bidders are keeping in mind.