• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, October 10, 2011

Yahoo -- reportedly the first company to court Hulu -- is now reportedly no longer bidding for the video venture. According to a Wall Street Journal story, Yahoo simply ran short on time and resources as it prepares to restructure, and potentially sell its own company.

“Yahoo was the first company said to be interested in buying Hulu, back in June, but wanted four or five years' worth of exclusive streaming rights from the company, while Hulu only wanted to offer two years of exclusive rights,” Business Insider reports.

“Since then, Yahoo has fired its CEO and is considering a sale of the company, so it's probably not the best time to be digesting a $2 billion acquisition,” BI adds.

“With Yahoo out of the way, it appears Dish Network is now the new front-runner to acquire the streaming-video service,” CNet writes, citing the WSJ story. “The company initially offered $1.9 billion for Hulu … but has asked Hulu to change its bid. Google, on the other hand, is willing to pay more than $2 billion, but has required Hulu to agree to certain conditions before it can complete the deal.”

“Hulu owners News Corp., Walt Disney Co., Comcast/NBCUniversal and private equity firm Providence Equity Partners are still weighing whether to sell or not,” writes The Hollywood Reporter.

Yet, “Hulu is still rumored to be wavering on whether or not it will sell at all,” writes Electronista.com. “The deal comes with a large amount of potential baggage, such as studios loathe to give too much support to anyone that would endanger more lucrative traditional TV business.”

“Although Hulu might present some value to would-be buyers, so far, the potential suitors have reportedly been careful with their bids,” CNet notes. “The issue is, Hulu's owners … haven't always been the most willing to share content on the Web. 

In particular, Fox recently made the decision to delay the availability of its content on Hulu. “Previously,” CNet adds, “the company brought new episodes to the streaming service the next day after they aired, but now, it waits eight days.”