Hulu Has to Decide Whether to Sell

Hulu's owners are scrambling to figure out how to make money from a new generation of TV viewers who want to do some of their viewing online or on mobile devices, and also must now decide whether to sell the company, as Yahoo apparently has submitted a bid to buy Hulu. The decision will carry important strategic implications.

Right now, Hulu is a supplemental, "catch up" service that allows users to view recent TV episodes. But Hulu could also be the foundation for building a rival distribution platform that competes more directly with existing multi-channel video subscription services.

Sooner or later, that is likely to happen in any case, the fundamental issue being one of timing. But timing is everything when an industry faces changing end user demand in ways that will cannibalize the sizable existing business.

Hulu's Owners Weigh Cons of Possible Sale of the Site - WSJ.com (subscription required)