Hulu adds PBS shows to its TV content library
Streaming video service Hulu is adding a huge collection of PBS television shows to its content library, the company announced Thursday.
The new content is available with commercials to all Hulu users, while premium subscribers of Hulu Plus can watch it commercial-free. Some of the shows now available include Ken Burns library, the first season of Downton Abbey, NOVA, and American Experience, as well as children’s series including Arthur, Dinosaur Train and Wild … Continue Reading
Hulu CEO Jason Kilar: Original programming is an important part of the agenda
Streaming video site Hulu is on the cusp of airing its first original series. Original programming will be an important part of the company’s agenda in the future, CEO Jason Kilar said at the D: Dive Into Media event in Dana Point, Calif. Tuesday.
Kilar expressed Hulu’s commitment to a “healthy differentiation” of its service from other video streaming services (Netflix was implied, but not named), in an on-stage interview with AllThingsD media editor Peter … Continue Reading
Hulu to stream first original scripted series: “Battleground” (trailer)
Hoping that content really is king in the battle for viewer attention, video streaming company Hulu has purchased its first original scripted series.
Hulu has ordered 13, 30-minute episodes of (somewhat ironically titled) “Battleground,” a faux documentary that follows the characters behind a fictional politician’s campaign for Senator.
“Battleground” episodes will beginning airing Tuesday, February 14, and episodes will include eight minutes of advertising, according to AdAge.
The site’s exclusive new offering is part of … Continue Reading
Hulu to drop $500M on content in 2012, more than it earned in 2011
Despite a highly publicized 2011 quest for a buyer, Hulu operations are so peachy keen that the company will spend almost half a billion dollars on new content in 2012, CEO Jason Kilar would have you know.
The streaming video company, which specializes in providing online access to network television content, brought in $420 million in revenue in 2011, Kilar said in a blog post on the company’s 2011 performance.
The revenue figure is up … Continue Reading
Hulu lands exclusive digital syndication rights to TV comedy ‘Community’
Hulu and Netflix are embroiled in a melee over digital content rights to the most popular TV shows. Friday, Hulu landed a blow by announcing that it is now the exclusive digital syndication partner for the Emmy award-winning television comedy series Community.
Hulu already carried Community, and Netflix didn’t. The exclusivity deal means that Netflix and other streaming-video rivals are now frozen out of this show.
Community is a B-list get for Hulu, and … Continue Reading
Hulu hits a million paying subscribers; will invest $375M in new content this year
Despite an impending sale from its owners who no longer want it, Hulu continues to grow in popularity and revenues.
The streaming video service has reached a million paying customers, reports Reuters.
In June, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar said he anticipated that the company would reach the milestone number of a million paid subscribers by the end of the year. Now it seems that the service will far exceed those numbers.
Hulu offers a limited … Continue Reading
Apple drops 99-cent iTunes TV rentals
Apple on Friday quietly removed its 99-cent TV show rentals from the iTunes Store.
The decision comes just days after CEO Steve Jobs resigned, signaling the company could be looking to simplify its product offerings or just showing off its willingness to cut less-successful product offerings.
Rentals had cost 99 cents per episode. Customers who want to watch TV episodes through iTunes and their iOS-enabled devices now only have the option purchase individual shows, which … Continue Reading
Why Hulu users are locked to computers while Netflix users roam free
According to new stats from Nielsen, a full 89 percent of Hulu viewers say they’re watching Hulu content (mostly TV shows) on their computers.
For comparison, just 43 percent of Netflix viewers watch from PCs, and 36 percent watch from TV-connected video game consoles. Around 15 percent watch Netflix content on Internet-connected TVs and via Roku and TiVo.
In fact, on non-computer devices (excluding TVs that are hooked up to computers), Netflix customers access more … Continue Reading
Hulu or Netflix: In the game of streaming video, you win or you socialize
With over 23 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, Netflix has roughly 25 times more paying customers than competing online video service Hulu. However, Hulu is by far the more dominant streaming service when it comes to social interaction, according to data collected by social media listening firm Mashwork.
“In terms of a ‘A to B’ comparison, we were surprised by how unsocial the Netflix users were,” said Mashwork founder Jared Feldman, who highlighted … Continue Reading
Not too shabby: Hulu nears a million paid subscribers
Video-streaming site Hulu is very close to reaching a million paid subscribers, according to the company’s second quarter progress report published today.
Hulu offers a limited amount of free access to the videos on its website. For $8 per month, Hulu Plus subscribers get access to a larger library of exclusive content as well as the ability to watch programming on several different devices, not just through a web browser. The company has about 875,000 … Continue Reading
Android finally gets Hulu Plus, but only on six devices
Buyout or not, it’s still business as usual for Hulu. Today the online television hub debuted its Hulu Plus service on six Android phones.
Like its iOS and desktop brethren, the Android app lets users stream Hulu’s huge catalog of television and movies on compatible devices. However, the service currently only supports a smattering of Android handsets.
Google’s Nexus One and Nexus S made the cut, along with HTC’s Inspire 4G, and Motorola’s Droid II, … Continue Reading
Hulu Plus is welcome addition to Xbox Live, but Kinect control is slow
Microsoft is adding Hulu Plus to the Xbox Live online gaming service on Friday, expanding the system’s entertainment options in a very good way. Users who pay $7.99 a month can get access to the streaming movie and TV show service of Hulu via the Xbox 360.
The new system works with Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensing system, allowing you to speak voice commands or wave your arm in the air to pause, fast forward, rewind, or … Continue Reading
Hulu Plus officially launches at $7.99 a month, now on Roku boxes
It looks like rumors of a cheaper Hulu Plus subscription, the video streaming site’s premium offering, were true after all. Hulu announced the official launch of Hulu Plus today at $7.99 a month — two bucks cheaper than the $9.99 subscription offered during its preview period.
In addition, the company announced that Hulu Plus is available on Roku’s streaming video boxes today. We reported in September that the service was coming to Roku this fall. … Continue Reading
Hulu CEO lukewarm on ad-free version
Hulu chief executive Jason Kilar has said in the past that the online video site is considering a premium service that’s completely ad-free, but today at the NewTeeVee Live conference in San Francisco, he didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about the idea.
The company has already been testing its Hulu Plus subscription service, which provides users with more content and allows them to watch Hulu on mobile devices like the iPhone — but it doesn’t eliminate … Continue Reading
Hulu Plus drops invites, heads to Sony Bravia HDTVs and all PlayStation 3 users
Even though Hulu’s paid offering, Hulu Plus, doesn’t appear to be a smashing success, the streaming video site is still pushing forward by dropping the need for invites, adding more content, and supporting more devices.
Hulu Plus is heading to Sony Bravia HDTV’s today, and it will be available to all Playstation 3 users next week, the company announced today.
Previously, only paid subscribers to Sony’s Playstation Plus service could access Hulu Plus. The company … Continue Reading
Hulu preparing for $300M IPO to hold ground against Netflix and company?
Broadcast content streaming site Hulu may be preparing for an IPO to raise as much as $300 million with Morgan Stanley as the primary underwriter, according to a report from Reuters.
The additional funding could be used to pay for new content sources like deals with broadcast networks. Google and Apple are entering the living room with Google TV and the revamped Apple TV. They’ll both features movie and show rentals. And Netflix is already … Continue Reading
Hulu Plus coming to Roku streaming boxes, Tivo Premiere, this fall
All of a sudden, the Apple TV seems a lot less appealing. Confirming our report from yesterday, Roku just announced that its video streaming set-top boxes will have access to Hulu Plus this fall.
Additionally, Hulu announced that it will be bringing Hulu Plus to Tivo Premiere digital video recorders.
The announcements are great news for all the companies involved, as well as consumers. Roku just recently announced a new line of set-top boxes, which … Continue Reading
Hulu may be headed to a Roku streaming video box near you
Not that this comes as a huge surprise, but it looks like owners of Roku’s streaming video box may soon have access to content from Hulu, according to two of Hulu’s content partners who spoke to Dan Rayburn from Business of Video.
I contacted Roku regarding the story and received the following response: “We have no comment at this time. It’s reasonable to expect we’ll have something to say in the near future and I … Continue Reading
CBS may participate in TV show streaming site Hulu's premium service 'Plus'
CBS, which airs shows like the Big Bang Theory, CSI and Survivor, may make a move to release its TV content through online steaming site Hulu’s premium subscription service, Hulu Plus, according to a report by Bloomberg. NBC, ABC, and Fox all offer their content through Hulu’s free service, but CBS has long been a holdout.
Still, the network isn’t making a firm commitment. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves told Bloomberg the company might consider participating … Continue Reading
Hulu Plus hits Sony's Playstation 3, exclusive until 2011
With the reveal of its premium Hulu Plus service last month, video streaming site Hulu announced that it would be branching out to devices other than computers, including televisions, Apple devices, and game consoles. Today, Hulu Plus has finally landed on the Playstation 3 — although it isn’t available to all PS3 owners just yet — according to the official Playstation blog.
Currently, Hulu Plus is available to a select group of Playstation Plus subscribers … Continue Reading
