By Jon Friedman, MarketWatch
Mel Karmazin would be a great candidate to run Hulu, writes Jon Friedman.NEW YORK (MarketWatch) ? It sounds like a match made in media heaven: SiriusXM Radio?s dynamic and departing Chief Executive Mel Karmazin running Hulu.
The video-streaming company, whose parents include News Corp. /quotes/zigman/94823/quotes/nls/nws NWS -0.45% , Walt Disney Co. /quotes/zigman/245568/quotes/nls/dis DIS -0.13% ?and Comcast/NBCUniversal /quotes/zigman/89307/quotes/nls/cmcsa CMCSA +0.79% , needs a charismatic CEO who can confer a dose of sex appeal on to the brand and give it a greater identity.
Presumably, someone with a track record as distinguished as that of Karmazin ? who co-founded Infinity Broadcasting and served as president of CBS ? could put an end to such headlines as FastCompany.com?s pronouncement last October: ?Hulu Struggles to Survive the Influence of Its Parent Companies.?
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Meanwhile, Karmazin could use a job. SiriusXM /quotes/zigman/111667/quotes/nls/siri SIRI +0.48% seemed like a perfect fit for him. He?s an executive who had a reputation as a high-energy boss who got results. During the reign of Karmazin, who joined the company in 2004, its subscriber rolls zoomed to 23 million from 600,000.
But the clock started ticking toward Karmazin?s exit almost from the minute that Liberty Media Corp.?s /quotes/zigman/13637761/quotes/nls/lmcad LMCAD +0.0090% ? ambitious leader John Malone made it clear that he intended to gobble up SiriusXM. Liberty Media controls nearly 50% of the satellite-radio company.
Karmazin, who likes to be his own boss and not report to anybody else, had no intention of serving as Malone?s deputy,
Another reason why Hulu could be a possible destination for Karmazin? The top job is open.
Jason Kilar, who has been with Hulu since 2007, is exiting the six-year-old company in this quarter.
What is Hulu, exactly? It is an Internet site and a subscription service that presents advertising-bolstered, on-demand streaming video of television programs, movies and new media trailers, film clips and other footage.
Questions have dogged Hulu. Could a company with so many bosses be autonomous? Should it be a free site or should people pay for some services? Would it be acquired at any point? Would there be an initial public offering ?
Karmazin may figure that Hulu would be too problematic because he would have to serve so many masters. In addition to the broadcast giants calling the shots, Providence Equity Partners has also provided funding.
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Granted, Karmazin, who declined to be interviewed for this piece, would have to re-jigger his business and lifestyle priorities if he took the reins at Hulu. He is a dedicated New Yorker and Hulu happens to be based in Santa Monica, Calif.
More nettlesome, perhaps, Karmazin stressed the other day on CNBC, in an interview with David Faber, that he wanted to set his sights on running a public company, which features an independent board of directors. Uh-oh. Hulu is privately owned. Watch the CNBC video interview with Karmazin.
/quotes/zigman/94823/quotes/nls/nws
US : U.S.: Nasdaq
Volume: 1.35M
Jan. 18, 2013 4:00p
Rev. per Employee$705,896
/quotes/zigman/245568/quotes/nls/dis US : U.S.: NYSE
Volume: 8.45M
Jan. 18, 2013 4:00p
Rev. per Employee$254,687
/quotes/zigman/89307/quotes/nls/cmcsa US : U.S.: Nasdaq
Volume: 11.73M
Jan. 18, 2013 4:00p
Market Cap$106.15 billion
Rev. per Employee$489,484
/quotes/zigman/111667/quotes/nls/siri US : U.S.: Nasdaq
Volume: 39.36M
Jan. 18, 2013 4:00p
/quotes/zigman/13637761/quotes/nls/lmcad US : U.S.: Nasdaq
Volume: 534,263
Jan. 18, 2013 4:00p
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mel-karmazin-is-sexy-enough-to-run-hulu-2013-01-18
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