purchase of the online video website
Hulu, the Dow Jones news site
AllThingsD reported Wednesday.
The move comes after the French
government blocked Yahoo's effort to
take a controlling stake in another
leading video-sharing site,
Dailymotion.
The report said Yahoo chief executive
Marissa Mayer recently met with top
executives at Hulu, and that the site's
owners have been considering selling it
for some months.
It said there had been no formal bid
by Yahoo for Hulu, a joint venture of
News Corp, Disney and Comcast. But
it noted that other possible bidders for
all or part of Hulu include Amazon,
former News Corp. executive Peter
Chernin's media and investment firm,
and Guggenheim Partners' digital unit
led by former Yahoo interim CEO Ross
Levinsohn.
Mayer, who moved from Google to
take the reins at Yahoo last year, is
believed to be focusing on mobile and
video as ways to revive the fortunes
of the Internet pioneer.
Yahoo had been in talks to buy a 75
percent stake in Dailymotion, which is
controlled by France Telecom through
its Internet division Orange.
(Also see: Yahoo considering buying
stake in video site Dailymotion:
Report )
The French government, which holds a
27 percent stake in France Telecom,
had insisted on a 50-50 split, rejecting
Yahoo's effort, according to
government officials.
Hulu, which has been battling rivals
like Netflix in the area of streaming
video, generated some $700 million in
revenues last year. It has around four
million subscribers to its premium
video service.
In 2011, Hulu owners said they were
opposing a sale despite the reported
interest of Apple, Yahoo, Google and
Microsoft.
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