HULU: WORTH $2 BILLION?

A report in Monday’s New York Times that the owners of Hulu are considering an IPO valuing the video website at $2 billion is being greeted with skepticism by some analysts, with some suggesting that the report may have been planted as a trial balloon. The Times itself observed that "the company currently makes little in the way of profit," and all of that is divided four ways among its principal owners, Fox, Disney/ABC, NBC Universal, and Providence Equity. The Los Angeles Times noted today (Tuesday) that questions have arisen over whether NBC will remain a part of Hulu if and when it merges with Comcast, given the fact that Comcast has its own online video website. But Tom Taulli, author of Investing in IPOs, told the Hollywood Reporter that he believes that the offering will get traction because of the hype it will get from the big media companies that own Hulu.