Disney CEO Bob Chapek Says There’s Definite Interest in Buying Out Comcast’s Shares in Hulu

Christina Hall is denying ex Ant Anstead's most recent claim. One day after Anstead filed court docs alleging that his and Hall's 3-year-old son, Hudson, is being «exploited» by the HGTV star, Hall fired back with a court filing of her own.In Anstead's court filing, obtained by ET, he noted that, since he sought -- and was denied — emergency temporary orders in April, he and Hall resolved «a lot» of their custody issues and Hudson «has now adapted to the new 50/50 custodial schedule.» In Hall's court filing, which ET obtained, she called Anstead's statement «grossly misleading» as «Hudson has always been well adjusted to that schedule,» which has been in place for more than a year.According to Anstead, the one «unresolved issue» is that of «whether or not it is in Hudson's best interests to have his name, image, and likeness exploited in commercials and he be compelled to appear on Christina’s 'reality TV' shows.»«Christina has already exploited Hudson in numerous paid promotions on social media,» Anstead claimed.

BBC Two show Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.The much-loved comedy legend previously underwent a triple heart bypass operation, after being diagnosed with a coronary heart disease seven years ago.Appearing at Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast on Monday (September 26), Mortimer spoke about his most recent health scare, saying: “I am not very well. I am not very healthy at the moment.“I did a show last week, a fishing show, and there was only two-and-a-half-days filming, and I did it Tuesday, Wednesday and half of Thursday, and I was in hospital on the Saturday.”He added: “I am sorry, I should not have said that, should I? It’s a real downer.”Mortimer also revealed that he had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis: “I have been free of it since I have been 34 and it came back 10 days ago,” he said.The comedian previously told The Sun that, following his heart operation in 2015, he made a number changes to his lifestyle.“I did some things after the operation that I wouldn’t have done before,” he said.

Premier League football could go D2C in Asia at some point in the coming years, according to Richard Masters, CEO of one of the world’s most lucrative sports leagues.

Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon has said there “hasn’t been much change” in terms of the biggest formats in the UK over the past eight-to-nine years.

Congratulations! After a jury vote, Taylor Hale became the winner of Big Brother season 24, taking home the impressive $750,000 prize during live Sunday, September 25, finale.

Olivia Rodrigo is supporting Alanis Morissette on her big night!

John Mayer is honoring his late friend Bob Saget.

Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest next to her late husband, Prince Philip, Monday, and now, with her funeral complete, many are weighing in on the probable cause of Her Majesty's death. ET's Kevin Frazier spoke to royal expert, Katie Nicholl at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, where she said the Queen «ultimately died of a broken heart,» just over a year after Prince Philip's passing in April 2021.«That moment where the Queen's coffin was lowered down into the royal vault was very, very powerful.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "broke rank" with an emotional gesture during royal proceedings yesterday, a body language expert has claimed.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex took part in the ceremony as they followed the Queen's coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall separately on Wednesday afternoon and later held hands in the hall. Harry walked alongside his brother, the new Prince of Wales, and other senior royals as they paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.

With a bit more than a year left before Disney can buy out Comcast’s financial stake in Hulu, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts pushed back on Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s suggestion that Hulu’s value has declined amid public market skepticism about streaming.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Is there a bidding war brewing over Hulu? Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts called Hulu a “phenomenal business” — and said that if Disney were willing to sell it, the cable and media company would be interested in buying it out. “Hulu’s a phenomenal business. Its scale is fantastic. It has wonderful content,” Roberts said, speaking Wednesday at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference 2022 in San Francisco. “If it was up for sale, Comcast would be interested” in buying 100% of Hulu, and “others would I think as well.” Disney currently owns 66% of Hulu and Comcast holds the remaining 33% stake. As of July 2, 2022, Disney recorded Comcast’s interest in Hulu as being worth $8.6 billion, implying a valuation of $25.8 billion. In an auction-style sale of Hulu in its entirety, Roberts suggested, Hulu may fetch more than that.

Walt Disney’s CEO today further articulated an evolving strategy — over the next three or four years — of Disney+ becoming a platform for consumer engagement beyond the streaming service.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek, coming off a promotional blitz at the company’s D23 conference last weekend, reiterated many of those messages for a Wall Street audience but struck a more confident tone than ever before in outlining the future of Hulu.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney+ was first launched three years ago with the “pretty absurd” low price point of $6.99 per month, CEO Bob Chapek admitted. Now the company is gearing up to raise prices again on the flagship streamer — but Disney+ still offers a better price/value equation than competitors, he said. “I think we’re way underpriced relative to the value we provide,” Chapek said, noting that the core Disney+ service without ads will continue to be priced below several competitors. The CEO was speaking Wednesday at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference 2022. Amid rising inflation, Disney has announced price increases coming in the fourth quarter of 2022 for Disney+ and Hulu, as well as a December launch for the ad-supported Disney+ tier in the U.S. Disney+ Basic, the name of the plan with ads, will launch Dec. 8 in the U.S. for $7.99/month. That’s the price of the current ad-free version of Disney+, which at that time will bump up to $10.99/month, a 38% increase, and will be known as Disney+ Premium.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Bob Iger, former CEO of the Walt Disney Co., is joining venture-capital firm Thrive Capital as a venture partner, the company announced Tuesday. Iger stepped down as Disney’s CEO in 2020 after a 15-year run, succeeded by Bob Chapek. Iger’s tenure as as executive chairman ended at the end of last year. New York-based Thrive Capital was founded in 2009 by Josh Kushner, the younger brother of former Trump adviser Jared Kushner. “Bob is widely recognized as one of the most visionary, innovative, and successful CEOs in history, and epitomizes daring leadership,” the VC firm said in a blog post. “Bob will bring his experience and expertise to bear in mentoring our founders as they build iconic companies spanning multiple industries, including healthcare, consumer technology, financial services, enterprise software, and more. Today’s complex and dynamic times require bold leadership, and we can think of no one better suited than him to mentor Thrive companies as they forge new ground.”

Goldman Sachs conference on Monday, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said that his company is in talks with Amazon Studios and Netflix about their plans for releasing films in theaters. “We are having conversations with Amazon about, is it going to be 15 days, 25 days, day-and-date? There is no one way or another,” he said. “Certain movies even on Netflix now, they are going to do four weeks in theaters … There is no set model right now, because they are still figuring it out.”The same could probably be said for almost all of Hollywood’s major studios.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek is opening up about ESPN as activist investor Daniel Loeb had been pressuring the company to spin off the sports network.