The Hulu streaming service experienced operating difficulties on Thursday evening as viewers across the U.S. began complaining online that they could not access the service.
What Happened: Outage tracking website Downdetector.com began to receive complaints about viewers’ inability to access Hulu at around 8:00 p.m. EDT.
The hashtag #HuluDown began trending on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), with users expressing frustration over the outage, while others sarcastically blamed the glitch on yesterday’s premiere of “The Kardashians” reality series on Hulu.
The Hulu website posted a message that stated, “Playback unavailable? We’re investigating the issue with the highest priority and hope to have things back up and running soon. Thanks for your patience!”
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Why It Matters: Hulu, which had 45.3 million subscribers at the end of 2021, is majority-owned by the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), with Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) holding a minority stake. The partnership between the companies runs through 2024, at which time Disney can buy Comcast’s stake for fair market value.
Disney also operates the Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming services and has packaged Hulu with the other entities to bring in new subscribers. Comcast operates Peacock and does not bundle Hulu with its streaming offerings.
