Apple is mulling an acquisition of US-based online video service Hulu, according to a Bloomberg report.
The news agency reported that Apple is in early talks that may lead to an offer for Hulu, quoting ‘two people who weren’t authorized to speak publicly’.
The move could give Apple a strong rival to US online video market leader Netflix.
Hulu’s media- company owners, Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and Comcast’s NBC Universal, are offering suitors a five-year extension of program rights, including two years of exclusive access, people familiar with the matter said earlier this week.
Cash rich Apple has over $75 bn of reserves, some of which could be used for buying Hulu which would give the iPhone maker a new subscription video service to compliment the firm’s iTunes store.
Bloomberg said buying Hulu could cost Apple as much as $2 billion.
Apple lead a consortium that bought defunct tech firm Nortel’s pool of 6,000 patents covering 4G, wireless, data networking and more.
Apple paid $2.6 billion out of the $4.5 billion total. The purchase is expected to provide valuable ammunition in the ongoing patent disputes between smartphone manufacturers.
