Hulu is a joint venture of NBCUniversal (Comcast/General Electric), Fox Entertainment Group (News Corp) and Disney-ABC Television Group (The Walt Disney Company),[5] with funding by Providence Equity Partners, which made a US$100 million equity investment and received a 10% stake.[6] By the Federal Communications Commission, NBCUniversal and Comcast are required not to exercise any right to influence the conduct or operation of Hulu.[7]
Contents [hide]
1 Name
2 History
3 Features
3.1 Hulu on TV
3.2 Hulu Desktop (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
3.3 Hulu on Tablets
3.4 Hulu on Smartphones
4 Programming
4.1 Networks and channels
4.2 Producers and distributors
5 Availability
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
[edit]Name
The name Hulu comes from two Mandarin Chinese words, hulu (simplified Chinese: 葫芦; traditional Chinese: 葫蘆; pinyin: húlú; Wade–Giles: hu-lu) "calabash, bottle gourd" and hulu (simplified Chinese: 互录; traditional Chinese: 互錄; pinyin: hùlù; Wade–Giles: hu-lu) "interactive recording". The company blog explains:
In Mandarin, Hulu has two interesting meanings, each highly relevant to our mission. The primary meaning interested us because it is used in an ancient Chinese proverb that describes the Hulu as the holder of precious things. It literally translates to "gourd", and in ancient times, the Hulu was hollowed out and used to hold precious things. The secondary meaning is "interactive recording". We saw both definitions as appropriate bookends and highly relevant to the mission of Hulu.[8]
[edit]History
The Hulu venture was announced in March 2007 with AOL, MSN, Facebook, and Yahoo! planned as "initial distribution partners."[9] Jason Kilar was named the CEO in June.[10][11] The name Hulu was chosen in late August 2007, when the website went live, with an announcement only and no content. It invited users to leave their email addresses for the upcoming beta test.[12] In October, Hulu began the private beta testing by invitation, and later allowed users to invite friends.[13] Hulu launched for public access in the United States on March 12, 2008.[14]
Hulu began an advertising campaign during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII with an initial ad starring Alec Baldwin titled "Alec in Huluwood".[15] The ad intended to humorously reveal "the shocking secret behind Hulu", portraying the site as being an "evil plot to destroy the world" by suggesting that Baldwin is really an alien in disguise.[16] Advertisements have since aired featuring Eliza Dushku, Seth MacFarlane and Denis Leary.
On April 30, 2009, Disney announced that it would join the venture, purchasing a 27% stake in Hulu.[5]
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 model as part of its business" and that it would likely start charging for at least some content by 2010.[17] Carey's comment jibes with other News Corp. heads, including Rupert Murdoch who has expressed a desire to charge for content with a number of on-line units.[18]
Early in 2010, Hulu chief executive Jason Kilar said the service has made a profit in two quarters, and that the company could top $100 million in revenue by summer 2010, more than its income for all of 2009. ComScore says monthly video streams reached 903 million in January 2010, over three times the figure for a year earlier,[19] and second only to YouTube.[20]
Hulu Plus, a monthly subscription service, was launched in beta (preview) on June 29, 2010 and officially launched on November 17, 2010. Like the free version of Hulu, the video available on Hulu Plus also contains commercials. However, it offers subscribers an expanded content library in the form of full seasons and more episodes of shows already available through Hulu. Hulu Plus is available on a wide range of platforms, including:
Blu-ray players (network-enabled)
Televisions (network-enabled Smart TVs)
Smartphones
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles
Roku Streaming Player
WD TV Media Player
As of January 17, 2011, Hulu has streamed its own in-house web series The Morning After, a light-hearted pop-culture news show. It is produced by Hulu in conjunction with Jace Hall's HDFilms and stars Brian Kimmet and Ginger Gonzaga. Producing the show is a first for the company, which in the past has been primarily a content distributor.[21]
Hulu has been identified as a possible candidate for an IPO by 2013.[22] On August 16, 2010, a report revealed that Hulu is planning an Initial Public Offering (IPO) which could value the U.S. video viewing site at more than $2 billion.[23][24]
On June 21, 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported that an "unsolicited offer" caused Hulu to begin "weighing whether to sell itself."[25]
Starting August 15, 2011, viewers of content from Fox and related networks will have to authenticate whether they subscribe to a paid cable or satellite service wherever Fox streams episodes, including Hulu, to be able to watch them the morning after the first airing. Non-subscribers will see those episodes delayed a week before they are viewable.[26]
[edit]Features
Hulu distributes video both on its own website and syndicates its hosting to other sites,[27] and allows users to embed Hulu clips on their websites.[14] In addition to NBC, ABC and Fox programs and movies, Hulu carries shows from other networks such as Current TV, PBS, USA Network, Bravo, Fuel TV, FX, NFL Network, Speed, Big Ten Network, Syfy, Style, Sundance, E!, G4, Versus, A&E, Oxygen and online comedy sources such as Onion News Network.[28] Each supplier gets 50 to 70 percent of advertising revenue resulting from its content.[19]
In November 2009, Hulu also began to establish partnerships with record labels to host music videos and concert performances on the site, including EMI in November 2009,[29] and Warner Music Group in December 2009.[30]
In early March 2010, headlines were made when Viacom announced that they were pulling two of the website's most popular shows,[31] The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, off Hulu.[31] The programs had been airing on Hulu since late 2008.[32] A spokesman for Viacom noted: "In the current economic model, there is not that much in it for us to continue at this time. If they can get to the point where the monetization model is better, then we may go back." [32] In February 2011, both shows were made available for streaming on Hulu once again.
[edit]Hulu on TV
Since Hulu's inception, consumers have been able to watch Hulu on their TVs by simply connecting a computer with a streaming capable video card to the TV via HDMI or other connection. Additionally, the Hulu Plus service, fully launched in November 2010, allows first-party access to Hulu from a variety of Blu-Ray linked TVs, integrated into Internet-connected televisions, iOS devices, gaming consoles, and set-top boxes.
In late June 2010, it was announced that a version of Hulu would be available to the iTunes App Store for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch running iOS4 or higher. Viewing the content on Hulu, however, requires a subscription.[33]
On November 2010, Orb Networks announced the Orb TV box which streams Hulu on the TV for free when used in conjunction with a computer and a smartphone.[34]
[edit]Hulu Desktop (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
Hulu has released a beta version of Hulu Desktop, a standalone program for watching Hulu programming without a web browser. The program uses a 10-foot user interface and is designed to be compatible with existing computer remote controls. It requires a Flash player and runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Hulu Desktop does not currently support all content accessed through normal browser means.
The latest version of the software was released on February 10, 2011, bringing the version number to 0.9.14. The new version includes both bug fixes and also support for the new Hulu Plus subscription service.
[edit]Hulu on Tablets
Hulu Plus, the monthly subscription package, unlocks the iPad application that allows streaming of some, but not all Hulu content from Wi-Fi and Wireless data networks via a dedicated iPad app.
[edit]Hulu on Smartphones
Hulu Plus, the monthly subscription package, unlocks the iPhone and iPod application that allows streaming all Hulu content from Wi-Fi and Wireless data networks via a dedicated app users may download freely. Hulu Plus is also available on the Android platform.
No comments:
Post a Comment