Report: Google close to beating Amazon, Dish and Yahoo for Hulu

Is Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) going to be the one that walks away with Hulu?

According to AllThingsDigital, the search giant has made an offer that asks for more than Hulu is offering for sale, but it's likely offering a heck of a lot more money than the $1.5 billion to $2 billion other bidders apparently are ready to pay to get it.

The report said sources believe Google may be looking for a bigger content deal, or a longer deal, and that it's potentially offering far more than Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH), companies that the Financial Times says are among the finalists vying for the video site.

But the big question remains: Would Hulu's owners, News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA), Disney (NYSE: DIS), and Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMSC) NBC Universal, be willing to sell to Google, a company most broadcasters have seen as a threat?

An executive told ATD that Google hinted that there was enough money on the table to make it worthwhile to at least listen to its proposal.

Another question: Will Disney and News Corp., the two companies who can actually vote on the sale, actually go through with it?

While Disney's Bob Iger this summer said he's in favor of offloading the property, News Corp.'s COO Chase Carey has said the companies might not be willing to let it go.

For more:
- see this AllThingsDigital article

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