Why is Disney developing new shows for Hulu when it's coming out with its own streaming service?

Wired

The news Monday that Howard the Duck and three other Marvel comic properties are being made into Hulu TV series was a head-scratcher, says Peter Rubin. Although Disney is about to double its ownership stake in Hulu thanks to the 21st Century Fox merger, it lost more than $500 million on the streaming service last year. "To be fair," says Rubin, "Howard the Duck has a long way to go before becoming a 'destination asset,' no matter how many Guardians of the Galaxy end-credit scenes he pops up in. But the idea holds true. Disney owns a handful of titanically successful IP universes—Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars, not to mention Mickey and the gang—and soon a distribution channel to pump them into people's homes. Why would it continue to develop shows for networks and platforms it doesn't own outright?"