Dish Network is Bidding for Hulu

Hulu is receiving bids from up to five potential buyers, including Dish Network, according to a report.

The potential buyers’ bids all include programming rights, according to a report in Bloomberg Business Week, which cites “people with knowledge of the situation.”

Hulu’s owners — Walt Disney, News Corp., Comcast and Providence Equity Partners — will give the new buyer five years of rights to TV shows, including two years of exclusivity.

Dish’s reported bid comes as the company is said to be preparing its own movie streaming service to compete with Netflix. Dish’s move also comes as Starz announced this week that its content will stop appearing on Netflix on February 28. Most of the newer releases and catalog films from Sony and Disney that are currently available on Netflix Watch Instantly are a result of the partnership with Starz.