The emerging battle for online television services is heating up with news Wednesday that Time Warner, Inc. has taken a 10 percent stake in streaming and video on demand service Hulu LLC.

According to reports Time Warner acquired the stake for $583 million in cash, valuing Hulu at $5.83 billion; The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, and Comcast now own a 30 percent stake each in the company, down from 33.33 percent previously.

Under the deal Hulu will obtain online rights to Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting entertainment, sports, news and kids networks including TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies, not only for video-on-demand but for Hulu’s new live-streaming TV service that is due to be launched early in 2017.

“Our investment in Hulu underscores Time Warner’s commitment to supporting and developing new platforms for the delivery of high-quality content and great consumer experiences to audiences around the globe,” Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes said in a statement. “We’re also excited to join Hulu’s other owners in launching a new consumer-friendly package featuring leading networks that will deliver more value to audiences and complement Hulu’s core SVOD offerings. The inclusion of Turner’s networks in Hulu’s new streaming service furthers our efforts to allow consumers to engage with and enjoy our brands across a wide range of platforms and services.”

Cord cutters

Hulu’s addition of Time Warner’s various media properties to its lineup is a massive boost for its forthcoming online live subscription television service.

The market, targeted primarily at cord cutters who no longer desire a costly cable television, is still in its early stages be it that there are options already on the market such as Sony Corp.’s PlaySation Vue offering; the Google, Inc. owned YouTube is also expected to launch a live streaming television service in 2017 while Apple, Inc. has been trying for some time to bring a similar product to market but so far with no success.

The question remains though is that aside from sports do that many people still care about live television?

While there are some who will always prefer to be able to flick channels and randomly discover things to watch, the wealth of alternatives to live television in 2016 has never been stronger, let alone popular with the likes of Netflix, Inc. having more subscribers than all the cable companies combined.

An exact date for Hulu’s live subscription TV product has not yet been announced.

Image credit: Turner Broadcasting.