Comcast Might Sell Hulu to a Growing Rival

, one of three corporations that currently owns Hulu, might hand the property off to one of its pay-TV rivals --

.

According to

, the telecommunications giant is currently in discussions with Chernin Group -- one of the many firms that wants a piece of Hulu -- for a joint bid to acquire Hulu. Comcast gave up managerial control of Hulu when it bought NBCUniversal (which co-created Hulu with Fox), so the cable firm would not technically be the one selling Hulu to AT&T. If

decide to sell the service, however, it could wind up in the hands of Comcast's rising rival. This is a puzzling acquisition, to say the least -- and a puzzling sale. While it makes sense for

to bid for Hulu and use it to bolster its online video efforts, why would content creators want to give up a content distribution service that they helped create? Why would they prefer for AT&T to own 50 percent of Hulu, instead of the roughly 30 percent that belongs to Comcast?

-- another cable giant -- is also

.

CEO Reed Hastings recently said that he feels Hulu is a greater threat

that's hungry and in startup mode. If the company is sold, he really does not seem to care who wins the bid -- either way, the outcome may be the same.