From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hulu
Hulu
Hulu nese: 葫蘆; pinyin: húlú; Wade–Giles: hu-lu) "calabash,
bottle gourd" and hulu (simplified Chinese: 互录; tradi-
tional Chinese: 互錄; pinyin: hùlù; Wade–Giles: hu-lu) "in-
teractive recording". The company blog explains:
Type Joint venture In Mandarin, Hulu has two interesting meanings,
Founded March 2007 each highly relevant to our mission. The primary
meaning interested us because it is used in an an-
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, U.S.
cient Chinese proverb that describes the Hulu as
Area served United States and its overseas territories, the holder of precious things. It literally translates
Japan to "gourd," and in ancient times, the Hulu was hol-
Key people Jason Kilar[1] (CEO)
lowed out and used to hold precious things. The
secondary meaning is "interactive recording." We
Owner NBCUniversal (32%)[2] saw both definitions as appropriate bookends and
Fox Entertainment Group (31%)
highly relevant to the mission of Hulu.[7]
Disney-ABC Television Group (27%)
Providence Equity Partners (10%)
Slogan Anywhere, Anytime History
Website http://www.hulu.com The Hulu venture was announced in March 2007 with
AOL, MSN, Comcast, MySpace and Yahoo! planned as
Alexa rank 210 (December 2011)[3] "initial distribution partners". A team from NBCUniver-
Type of site Video on demand sal & News corporation lead the company under interim
CEO George Kliavkoff, to begin with. "[8] Jason Kilar was
Available in English
named the CEO in June.[9][10] The name Hulu was chosen
in late August 2007, when the website went live, with
Hulu is a website and over-the-top (OTT) subscription an announcement only and no content. It invited users
service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming to leave their email addresses for the upcoming beta
video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new me- test.[11] In October, Hulu began the private beta testing
dia, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from by invitation, and later allowed users to invite friends.[12]
NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS, Nickelodeon, and many other net- Hulu launched for public access in the United States on
works and studios. Hulu videos are currently offered only March 12, 2008.[13] The first product to launch was the
to users in Japan and the United States and its overseas HULU Syndication network, which was designed and de-
territories.[4] Hulu provides video in Flash Video format, veloped by the NBCUniversal team from New York, on
including many films and shows that are available in 10-29-2007, followed by the HULU.com destinations site.
288p, 360p, 480p, and in some cases, 720 HD. Hulu also Hulu began an advertising campaign during NBC’s
provides web syndication services for other websites in- broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII with an initial ad starring
cluding AOL, MSN, MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo!, and Com- Alec Baldwin titled "Alec in Huluwood".[14] The ad in-
cast’s xfinityTV. tended to humorously reveal "the shocking secret behind
Hulu is a joint venture of NBCUniversal (Com- Hulu", portraying the site as being an "evil plot to de-
cast/General Electric), Fox Entertainment Group (News stroy the world" by suggesting that Baldwin is really an
Corp) and Disney-ABC Television Group (The Walt Disney alien in disguise.[15] Advertisements have since aired fea-
Company),[5] with funding by Providence Equity Part- turing Eliza Dushku, Seth MacFarlane and Denis Leary.
ners, the owner of Newport Television, which made a On April 30, 2009, Disney announced that it would
US$100 million equity investment and received a 10% join the venture, purchasing a 27% stake in Hulu.[5]
stake.[6] At an industry conference on October 21, 2009, News
Corporation Deputy Chairman Chase Carey stated that
Hulu "needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription
Name model as part of its business" and that it would likely
The name Hulu comes from two Mandarin Chinese start charging for at least some content by 2010.[16]
words, hulu (simplified Chinese: 葫芦; traditional Chi- Carey’s comment jibes with other News Corp. heads, in-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hulu
cluding Rupert Murdoch who has expressed a desire to
charge for content with a number of on-line units.[17]
Features
Early in 2010, Hulu chief executive Jason Kilar said Hulu distributes video both on its own website and syndi-
the service has made a profit in two quarters, and that cates its hosting to other sites,[28] and allows users to em-
the company could top $100 million in revenue by sum- bed Hulu clips on their websites.[13] In addition to NBC,
mer 2010, more than its income for all of 2009. ComScore ABC and Fox programs and movies, Hulu carries shows
says monthly video streams reached 903 million in Jan- from other networks such as Current TV, PBS, USA Net-
uary 2010, over three times the figure for a year earli- work, Bravo, Fuel TV, FX, NFL Network, Speed, Big Ten
er,[18] and second only to YouTube.[19] Network, Syfy, Style, Sundance, E!, G4, Versus, A&E, Oxy-
Hulu Plus, a monthly subscription service, was gen and online comedy sources such as Onion News Net-
launched in beta (preview) on June 29, 2010 and officially work.[29] Each supplier gets 50 to 70 percent of advertis-
launched on November 17, 2010. Like the free version ing revenue resulting from its content.[18]
of Hulu, the video available on Hulu Plus also contains In November 2009, Hulu also began to establish part-
commercials. However, it offers subscribers an expanded nerships with record labels to host music videos and con-
content library in the form of full seasons and more cert performances on the site, including EMI in Novem-
episodes of shows already available through Hulu. Hulu ber 2009,[30] and Warner Music Group in December
Plus is available on a wide range of platforms, including: 2009.[31]
• Blu-ray players (network-enabled) In early March 2010, headlines were made when Vi-
• TiVo DVR boxes (Premiere, Premiere XL, and acom announced that they were pulling two of the web-
Premiere Elite models) site’s most popular shows,[32] The Daily Show and The Col-
• Televisions (network-enabled Smart TVs) bert Report, off Hulu.[32] The programs had been airing on
• Smartphones Hulu since late 2008.[33] A spokesman for Viacom noted:
• Wii and Nintendo 3DS (By December), PlayStation 3, "In the current economic model, there is not that much
and Xbox 360 game consoles in it for us to continue at this time. If they can get to
• Roku Streaming Player the point where the monetization model is better, then
• WD TV Media Player we may go back."[33] In February 2011, both shows were
As of January 17 2011, Hulu has streamed its own in- made available for streaming on Hulu once again.
house web series The Morning After, a light-hearted pop-
culture news show. It is produced by Hulu in conjunction Hulu on TV
with Jace Hall’s HDFilms and stars Brian Kimmet and Since Hulu’s inception, consumers have been able to
Ginger Gonzaga. Producing the show is a first for the watch Hulu on their TVs by simply connecting a com-
company, which in the past has been primarily a content puter with a streaming capable video card to the TV via
distributor.[20] HDMI or other connection. Additionally, the Hulu Plus
Hulu has been identified as a possible candidate for service, fully launched in November 2010, allows first-
an IPO by 2013.[21] On August 16, 2010, a report revealed party access to Hulu from a variety of Blu-Ray linked TVs,
that Hulu is planning an Initial Public Offering (IPO) integrated into Internet-connected televisions, iOS de-
which could value the U.S. video viewing site at more vices, gaming consoles, and set-top boxes.
than $2 billion.[22][23] In late June 2010, it was announced that a version
On June 21, 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported of Hulu would be available to the iTunes App Store for
that an "unsolicited offer" caused Hulu to begin "weigh- the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch running iOS4 or higher.
ing whether to sell itself."[24] Viewing the content on Hulu, however, requires a sub-
Starting August 15, 2011, viewers of content from Fox scription.[34]
and related networks will have to authenticate whether On November 2010, Orb Networks announced the Orb
they subscribe to a paid cable or satellite service wher- TV box which streams Hulu on the TV for free when used
ever Fox streams episodes, including Hulu, to be able to in conjunction with a computer and a smartphone.[35]
watch them the morning after the first airing. Non-sub-
scribers will see those episodes delayed a week before Hulu Desktop (Windows, Mac, and Lin-
they are viewable.[25]
On October 13, 2011, Hulu and its owners have an-
ux)
nounced that they will not sell the popular video site af- Hulu has released a beta version of Hulu Desktop, a stand-
ter all. None of the bidders offered an amount that was alone program for watching Hulu programming without
satisfactory to its owners.[26] a web browser. The program uses a 10-foot user interface
On October 28, 2011, Hulu announced that they had and is designed to be compatible with existing computer
inked a five-year deal with The CW, giving the streaming remote controls. It requires a Flash player and runs on
site access to next-day content from five of the six major Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Hulu Desktop does not
networks.[27]
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hulu
currently support all content accessed through normal
browser means.
Availability
The latest version of the software was released on Fe- Currently, Hulu’s content is only available in the United
bruary 10, 2011, bringing the version number to 0.9.14. States and Japan with licensing reasons cited.[4] Howev-
The new version includes both bug fixes and also support er, many Internet users are able to get around Hulu’s geo-
for the new Hulu Plus subscription service. location block using proxy services.[38] Hulu was plan-
ning on launching in the U.K. and Ireland in September
Hulu on Tablets 2009, but as of April 2010 these had been abandoned for
Hulu Plus, the monthly subscription package, unlocks the the foreseeable future after failure to sign any content
iPad application that allows streaming of some, but not deals.[39] In July 2010, the Financial Times revealed that
all Hulu content from Wi-Fi and Wireless data networks Hulu had been working on plans for an international
via a dedicated iPad app. launch of Hulu Plus for several months, and had identi-
fied the UK and Japan as markets where its free website
Hulu on Smartphones and subscription model could feasibly work.[40] Hulu
chief executive Jason Kilar expressed his belief that the
Hulu Plus, the monthly subscription package, unlocks the
US model could be replicated elsewhere, saying "We
iPhone and iPod application that allows streaming all Hu-
won’t be satisfied until this is a global service."[41] Hulu’s
lu content from Wi-Fi and Wireless data networks via a
first expansion into an international market took place
dedicated app users may download freely. Hulu Plus is al-
with the launching of service in Japan on September 1,
so available on the Android platform.
2011.[42] Japanese users will have access to a library of
popular television shows such as the CSI franchise, Grey’s
Programming Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and Prison Break, as well as movies
such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Men in Black and Armaged-
Hulu includes programming from several sources, in-
don. In the near future, it will also add local content from
cluding:
Japan as well as entertainment from other Asian re-
gions.[43]
Networks and channels As of February 2009, Hulu has pulled its content from
• Fox: FOX, FX, Fox News, Fox Business CBS Corp.’s TV.com, and from Boxee, a software firm
• NBC Universal: NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, Syfy, Oxygen that makes Internet video suitable for viewing on a large
• The Walt Disney Company: ABC, ABC Family screen, like a television connected to a PC.[44] However,
• The Biography Channel Hulu worked with PlayOn, which when combined with an
• MTV Networks: MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, TV Xbox 360, PS3, or certain other devices would allow play-
Land, Spike, Nickelodeon back of Hulu content on a TV. Also, Boxee produced a
• National Geographic Channel workaround for Hulu support.[45]
• Public Broadcasting Service Not all content is available indefinitely. Full episodes
An agreement was announced in October 2011 that will of television shows rotate which are available, showing
allow Hulu to offer CW Television Network content.[36] anywhere from 1 to 10 of the latest episodes, depending
Additionally, Hulu offers CBS Broadcasting content in Ja- on the show. New episodes of T.V shows belonging to
pan. CBS is the only major network that does not use Hu- FOX aren’t released to basic hulu members until the next
lu to distribute content in the United States. episode is released. Certain movies are also featured on
the site and available for viewing on a rotating basis.
Producers and distributors Once a full episode or movie has rotated off of the web-
• NBCUniversal site, users can subscribe to Hulu+ (premium subscription)
• Lionsgate to view episodes from all seasons.[citation needed]
• Endemol
• MGM
• American Broadcasting Company
See also
• News Corporation • Video on demand
• Viacom • Digital rights management
• Sony Pictures
• Time Warner
On August 17, 2011, Hulu debuted its first long-form orig-
References
inal production entitled, A Day in the Life.[37] [1] "25 Smartest People in TV", Entertainment Weekly,
Page 17 of 26; Accessed October 23, 2009
[2] ""NBC Officially Owns 32 Percent of Hulu (Until
Comcast Acquires It)" Page 17 of 26; Accessed
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hulu
February 14, 2010". Thebigmoney.com. 2010-02-03. [14] "Hulu – Hulu TV Ads: Alec in Huluwood".
http://www.thebigmoney.com/blogs/ http://www.hulu.com/watch/58538/hulu-tv-ads-
hulucination/2010/02/03/nbc-officially- alec-in-huluwood. Accessed May 10, 2009.
owns-32-percent-hulu-until-comcast-acquires-it. [15] McCarthy, Caroline (January 26, 2009). "Hulu to
Retrieved 2010-12-29. shock the world with Super Bowl ad". CNET News.
[3] "Hulu.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. http://news.cnet.com/
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/hulu.com. 8301-13577_3-10150197-36.html. Retrieved
Retrieved 2011-11-02. 2009-02-02.
[4] ^ "Hulu - Support". http://www.hulu.com/ [16] Atkinson, Claire (2009-10-21). "Chase Carey: Hulu
support/geofilter. Retrieved September 2, 2011. to Charge in 2010". Broadcasting & Cable. Reed
"We are happy to announce Hulu is now available Business Information.
in Japan. While we have every intention to make http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/
Hulu’s growing content lineup available worldwide ADverse_Atkinson_on_Advertising/
in the future, we don’t have a timetable or any 23941-Chase_Carey_Hulu_to_Charge_in_2010.php?nid=2228&sour
news regarding expansion beyond Japan at this Retrieved 2009-11-08.
time. For more information information about [17] Sandoval, Greg (22 October 2009). "More signs Hulu
Hulu Japan, please visit www.hulu.jp Our intention subscription service is coming". Media Maverick.
is to make Hulu’s growing content lineup available CNET. http://news.cnet.com/
worldwide as quickly as possible. This requires 8301-31001_3-10381622-261.html. Retrieved 4
working with the content owners to clear the November 2009.
rights for each show or film in each specific region. [18] ^ Stelter, Brian; Stone, Brad (2010-04-05). "Hulu,
It’s a long-term project. We don’t have a definite the online-video hub, contemplates its future". The
timeline, but we’ll continue to work to make it New York Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
happen." html/businesstechnology/
[5] ^ Kramer, Staci D. It’s Official: Disney Joins News 2011517934_bthulufuture05.html?syndication=rss.
Corp., NBCU In Hulu; Deal Includes Some Cable Retrieved 2010-04-27.
Nets, April 30, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2009. [19] Grotticelli, Michael (2010-04-26). "Hulu plans
[6] Brady, Shirley (2007-08-29). "NBC and Fox Jump subscription service". Broadcast Engineering.
Through Hulu Hoop". Cable360.net. http://broadcastengineering.com/news/hulu-
http://www.cable360.net/competition/web/ plans-subscripiton-service-0426/. Retrieved
25376.html. Retrieved 2007-08-29. 2010-04-27.
[7] Kilar, Jason (2008-05-14). accessdate=2010-07-17 [20] Liz Shannon Miller (2011-01-18). "New Series The
"What’s in a Name?". http://blog.hulu.com/2008/ Morning After Nudges Hulu Into Production".
05/13/meaning-of-hulu/ accessdate=2010-07-17. GigaOM. http://gigaom.com/video/new-series-
[8] "Hulu – About". Hulu. 2007-03-22. the-morning-after-nudges-hulu-into-production/.
http://www.hulu.com/about. Retrieved Retrieved 2011-05-02.
2009-04-08. [21] "6 Reasons Groupon’s Rejection Of Google Is Great
[9] NBC Universal and News Corp. Announce New Online For The Universe". Businessinsider.com.
Video Venture. . Press Room (Hulu). 2007-03-22. 2010-12-10. http://www.businessinsider.com/
http://www.hulu.com/press/ google-groupon-deal. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
new_video_venture.html. Retrieved 2008-03-28. [22] U.S. video viewing site Hulu plans an IPO: report
[10] Nat Worden (2007-03-22). "Google’s Still on Top". [23] By Dealbook (2010-08-16). "Hulu Is Said to Be Ready
TheStreet.com. http://www.thestreet.com/s/ for an I.P.O". Dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com.
googles-still-on-top/newsanalysis/technet/ http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/
10346071.html. Retrieved 2007-08-29. hulu-is-said-to-be-ready-for-an-i-p-o/. Retrieved
[11] Nat Worden (2007-08-29). "Google’s New Foe: 2010-12-29.
Hulu". TheStreet.com. http://www.thestreet.com/s/ [24] VASCELLARO (2011-06-21). "Website Hulu
googles-new-foe-hulu/newsanalysis/ Considers Sale". The Wall Street Journal.
mediaentertainment/10376991.html. Retrieved http://online.wsj.com/article/
2007-08-29. SB10001424052702303936704576400133483416612.html.
[12] Hulu Debuts Via Private Beta. . Press Room (Hulu). Retrieved 2011-06-21.
2007-10-29. http://www.hulu.com/press/ [25] Brian Stelter, The New York Times. "Fox to Limit
private_beta.html. Retrieved 2008-03-28. Next-Day Streaming on Hulu to Paying Cable
[13] ^ Hulu.com Opens to Public. . Press Room (Hulu). Customers." July 26, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
2007-03-12. http://www.hulu.com/press/ [26] Parr, Ben, "Mashable". "[1]" October 13, 2011.
launch_press_release.html. Retrieved 2008-03-28. [27] Wasserman, Todd, "Mashable" [2]
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hulu
[28] Rebecca Dana and Emily Steel (2008-03-11). "Can [41] Laughlin, Andrew. Hulu ’puts UK launch back on
Hulu Find Its Mojo With Viewers?". The Wall Street agenda’, Digital Spy, July 9, 2010. Retrieved July 11,
Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/ 2010.
[42] "Summary Box: Hulu launches video subscription
SB120519822483125987.html?mod=technology_main_promo_left.
Retrieved 2008-03-19. service in Japan". Washington Post. September 1,
[29] "ABC to offer shows on Hulu". The Live Feed. April 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/
30, 2009. http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/04/abc- summary-box-hulu-launches-video-subscription-
to-offer-shows-on-hulu.html. service-in-japan/2011/09/01/
[30] "Hulu, EMI Strike Deal for Music Videos, Concerts". gIQAyExOuJ_story.html. Retrieved September 2,
PC Magazine. November 18, 2009. 2011.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/ [43] "Hulu launches its first overseas operation in
0,2817,2356071,00.asp. Retrieved 24 December Japan". Asia Pacific Arts. 09/01/2011.
2009. http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/
[31] "Hulu, Warner Music Sign Deal for Music Content". article@apa?hulu_launches_its_first_overseas_operation_in_japa
PC Magazine. December 23, 2009. [44] Holmes, Elizabeth (2009-02-19). "Hulu Withdraws
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/ its content from TV.com, Boxee". Wall Street
0,2817,2357529,00.asp. Retrieved 24 December Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/02/19/
2009. hulu-withdraws-its-content-from-tvcom-boxee/.
[32] ^ New York Daily News article: "Comedy Central Retrieved 2009-02-19.
yanks ’The Daily Show’ and ’The Colbert Report’ off [45] Ronen, Avner (2009-04-25). "new boxee version for
Hulu." Ubuntu, update for Mac and Apple TV". boxee blog.
[33] ^ Multichannel News article: "Dauman: Viacom http://blog.boxee.tv/2009/04/25/new-boxee-
Could Return To Hulu." version-for-ubuntu-update-for-mac-and-apple-tv/.
[34] Sandoval, Greg (2010-06-29). "Hulu unveils $9.99 Retrieved 2009-05-10. Hulu also tries to become
premium service". CNET. http://news.cnet.com/ international and all the content will be available
8301-31001_3-20009174-261.html. Retrieved worldwide. Hulu says that has some legalities
2010-07-27. involved so it will take some time. We estimate that
[35] November 19, 2010 (2010-11-19). "Orb TV brings it will be available for the visitors in the mid of the
Hulu to the TV, minus the fee | Technology | Los year 2010.
Angeles Times". Latimesblogs.latimes.com.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/
2010/11/orb-tv-brings-hulu-to-the-tv-minus-the-
External links
fee.html. Retrieved 2010-12-29. • www.hulu.com—Hulu.com site
[36] Szalai, George (October 28, 2011). "Analysts: CW- • www.hulu.jp—Hulu Japanese site
Hulu Deal Will Further Strengthen Network’s • "With Hulu, Older Audiences Lead the Way", The Wall
Bottom Line After Recent Netflix Agreement". The Street Journal
Hollywood Reporter.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/
analysts-cw-hulu-deal-will-254792. Retrieved
2011-12-28.
[37] "Morgan Spurlock ’A Day In The Life’: Original
Series Premieres On Hulu (VIDEO)". The Huffington
Post. 2011-08-17. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
2011/08/17/morgan-spurlock-a-day-in-the-
life_n_929008.html. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
[38] [3]
[39] Barnett, Emma. Hulu ’abandons UK plans’ after
broadcaster talks collapse, The Daily Telegraph, April
27, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
[40] Garrahan, Matthew. Hulu eyes launching global
pay platform, Financial Times, July 8, 2010. Retrieved
July 11, 2010.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hulu&oldid=468104843"
5
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hulu
Categories:
• American websites
• Internet properties established in 2007
• Entertainment websites
• Video on demand services
• Web 2.0
• Internet television
• Private equity portfolio companies
• Providence Equity Partners companies
This page was last modified on 28 December 2011 at 16:24. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
6