List of potential Hulu buyers narrows

Microsoft has reportedly decided not to pursue a bid for Hulu. The software giant was one of the potential suitors for the US on-demand service after its owners put it on the block.

Wire reports today said that Microsoft has decided not to move ahead with a second-round bid for Hulu. Online retailer Amazon was also linked to a bid, but it is also reported to have pulled out. The field of potential buyers still includes Google, Yahoo and several others.

Hulu is backed by Comcast, Disney and News Corp and any sale would likely give the buyer access to guaranteed content from these companies for five years.

Hulu is keen to talk up its recent performance as suitors circle the company. CEO Jason Kilar blogged recently that the paid-for Hulu Plus service had almost 1 million subscribers at the end of the second quarter. “We anticipate exceeding 1 million paying subscribers before the end of this summer; previously we had forecasted crossing that threshold around the end of this year,” he said.

Kilar added that there are now 28,000 full episodes of TV series on the subscription service, amounting to 15,000 hours of content.

The update regarding the sale of the company came as it picked up new shows for its Hulu Plus including Debmar Mercury-distributed Gordon Ramsay-fronted reality series Hell’s Kitchen. Subscribers can watch episodes from the entire eight-season back catalogue.