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Hulu (, ) (first launched as Hulu Plus) is an American subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as a joint venture between News Corporation (later 21st Century Fox) and NBCUniversal, which was later bought by Comcast. Many companies like AT&T's WarnerMedia, Providence Equity, and the Walt Disney Company bought stakes in the service. Hulu served as an aggregation of recent episodes of television series from the respective television broadcasting by its owners. In 2010, Hulu launched a subscription service, initially as "Hulu Plus," which featured full seasons of programs from the companies and other partners, and un-delayed access to new episodes. In 2017, the company launched Hulu with Live TV—an over-the-top streaming television service offering access to broadcast television channels. Hulu is one of the most-subscribed video on demand streaming media services, with 51 million paid memberships.
In 2011, Hulu launched Hulu Japan, marking its first and only international expansion. Three years later in 2014, Hulu Japan was acquired by Nippon TV and spun off from its American counterpart. Since February 2021, Hulu's original content has since been distributed outside of the U.S. via Disney+ under the Star brand. In 2019, Disney acquired a majority stake in Hulu as part of its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, and subsequently acquired the remaining stakes held by AT&T and Comcast in 2019 and 2023, respectively, giving it full ownership, with Disney paying Comcast an extra $438.7 million in addition to the minimum floor price for their remaining stake of Hulu, closing on or before July 24, 2025. After the acquisition, Disney an integration of Hulu into Disney+ as a content hub in December 2023, allowing subscribers of both services to access Hulu content from within the Disney+ app. Hulu is one of the three streaming services in the Disney Bundle, alongside Disney+ and ESPN+.
On January 6, 2025, Disney began its acquisition of a 70% stake in FuboTV, with the latter merging with Hulu's Live TV service. The combined company will remain publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, but will be controlled by Disney executives. As part of the deal, Fubo settled a lawsuit against ESPN Inc. (majority-owned by Disney), Fox Corporation (21st Century Fox's successor), and Warner Bros. Discovery (WarnerMedia's successor after its merger with Discovery, Inc.) over a joint venture known as Venu Sports, with Fubo being granted a preliminary injunction to stop its launch in August 2024. The merger will take 12 to 18 months according to Disney and Fubo. Venu Sports was discontinued a few days later.
Jason Kilar, who served as CEO of Hulu, said the name comes from a Chinese proverb:
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. In October 2007, Hulu began the private beta testing by invitation, and later allowed users to invite friends. Hulu launched for public access in the United States on March 12, 2008.
Hulu began an advertising campaign during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII with an initial ad starring Alec Baldwin titled "Alec in Huluwood." Advertisements have since aired featuring Eliza Dushku, Seth MacFarlane, Denis Leary, and Will Arnett.
In July 2007, Providence Equity, the owner of Newport Television, became one of the earliest "outside" investors by purchasing a 10% stake in the company for US$100 million equity investment, before the company was known as "Hulu." With its investment came a seat on the board of directors, where Providence was said to act as an "independent voice on the board." In April 2009, the Walt Disney Company joined the Hulu consortium as a stakeholder, with plans to offer content from ABC, ESPN and Disney Channel.
In June 2011, an "unsolicited offer" caused Hulu to begin "weighing whether to sell itself". However, Hulu and its owners refused to sell the company, as none of the bidders offered an amount that was satisfactory to its owners. In September of that year, the Hulu Japan launched in Japan; marking Hulu's first and only international expansion.
Hulu generated $420 million in revenue in 2011, $80 million short of the company's target. The vacant CEO post was officially filled by former Fox Networks President Mike Hopkins on October 17, 2013.
In October 2012, Providence sold its 10% stake to "Hulu's media owners" and ceased participation in the board. On February 27, 2014, Nippon Television Network Corporation acquired Hulu's Hulu Japan. The service would retain the "Hulu" brand and technology in Japan under a subsidiary of Nippon as part of a separate agreement.
On August 3, 2016, Time Warner (later WarnerMedia, now Warner Bros. Discovery) acquired a 10% stake of Hulu. Hopkins exited and was named Sony Pictures TV Chairman. Fox Networks Group COO Randy Freer was named CEO on October 24, 2017.
On May 14, 2019, Comcast relinquished its control in Hulu to Disney effective immediately. As a result, the streaming service became a division of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) with Comcast effectively becoming a silent partner. Under the agreement, Comcast's 33% stake can be sold to Disney at fair market value as early as 2024. The fair market value will be determined at that time, but Disney guaranteed a minimum valuation of the entire company at $27.5 billion (valuing the Comcast stake as worth at least $9.075 billion). Randy Freer would report to Disney executive Kevin Mayer.
Disney stated that its control of Hulu was the third major component of its direct-to-consumer strategy, complementing its sports streaming service ESPN+, and its then-forthcoming Disney+. Hulu would be oriented towards "general" entertainment and content targeting mature audiences. NBCUniversal will continue to license its content to the service through at least 2024, but it will have the option to begin transitioning its exclusivity deals with Hulu to non-exclusive terms beginning in 2020, and to end other content deals beginning in 2022.
On July 31, 2019, Disney reorganized Hulu's reporting structure, placing Hulu's Scripted Originals team under Disney General Entertainment Content. Under the new structure, Hulu's SVP of Original Scripted Content would report directly to the chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment. As of November 2019, FX and Fox Searchlight were assigned to supply Hulu with content. In January 2020, Disney eliminated the role of Hulu CEO, with its top executives to report directly to DTCI and Walt Disney Television. On January 31, 2020, Freer resigned as CEO of Hulu and the position was eliminated; Hulu's top executives now report directly to DTCI and Walt Disney Television.
In June 2021, Comcast accused Disney of undermining Hulu's growth and value by not engaging in international expansion of the service, having instead added the Star brand as an extension of Disney+ in selected markets.
On September 7, 2021, Hulu announced that the prices of its main video on-demand and ad-free plans would increase by $1 each to $6.99 and $12.99 per-month beginning October 8. In October 2021, Hulu president Kelly Campbell resigned, and was subsequently appointed the president of NBCUniversal's competing service Peacock.
On November 22, 2021, Disney and WarnerMedia reached a deal to let select 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures films stream on Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max in 2022. In March 2022, NBCUniversal decided that it will pull content from Hulu and move them to Peacock, beginning in September. In January 2022, Joe Earley became president of Hulu.
In September 2022, Chapek indicated that Disney is considering merging Hulu into Disney+ because the model had been successful outside the United States without any content friction. To accelerate the plan, he said that Disney would love to buy out Comcast's 33.3% stake in Hulu earlier than their previously agreed 2024 timeline. However, Comcast had not offered reasonable terms for an early buyout and had instead expressed interest in buying Hulu themselves if it were for sale.
On May 18, it was announced that Disney+ and Hulu would remove nearly 60 original films and series on May 26 in order to "cut costs." The news sparked some backlash, mostly towards the initial decision to remove Howard, the documentary on the life of lyricist Howard Ashman, on the eve of Pride Month and the release of the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. However, it was confirmed the next day that film will remain available on the service.
On July 10, 2023, Hulu launched an adult animation and anime hub known as Animayhem, featuring several different 20th Television Animation programs, including American Dad, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and King of the Hill, among various others. Additionally, new seasons of Futurama and King of the Hill were commissioned for the service, while the company also showcased an "immersive" experience at San Diego Comic-Con to promote the occasion, titled Hulu Animayhem: Into the Second Dimension. The hub was also launched on Disney+ internationally the following year.
On December 6, 2023, Disney launched a content hub for Disney+, which contains Hulu content for Disney Bundle subscribers in the United States in beta.
On January 16, 2012, Hulu announced that it would be airing its first original script based program, titled Battleground, which premiered in February 2012. The program aired on Hulu's free web service rather than on the subscription-based Hulu Plus. Battleground is described as a documentary-style political drama.Rother, Larry, January 16, 2012, "Hulu Announces First Original-Script-Based Program".
Later that same month, Hulu announced it would air The Fashion Fund, a six-part reality series, and the winner of the show would receive $300,000 to start their career.Poggi Jeanine January 27, 2012. Hulu Adds Unscripted Series 'The Fashion Fund,' Accelerating Original Content Effort."
To continue with its original programming movement, Hulu announced that there would be a total of seven original programs that were planned to air on its service: Battleground, Day in the Life, and Up to Speed were previously mentioned; and on April 19, Hulu added four more shows to its list: Don't Quit Your Daydream, Flow, The Awesomes, and We Got Next. Some of these programs began airing in 2012, while others premiered over the next few years.
On May 21, 2012, Hulu announced it would be bringing Kevin Smith to its lineup of original programming. Smith hosts a movie discussion show titled Spoilers, which began airing in mid-2012.
In March 2016, Lionsgate Premiere and Hulu jointly acquired distribution rights to the film Joshy, which was later released on August 12, 2016.
On May 4, 2016, Hulu acquired , as its first documentary acquisition, as part of a planned Hulu Documentary Films collection. The film premiered theatrically on September 15, before debuting on the streaming service on September 17.
Since September 2022, selected International programs that released on Disney+'s Star Hub and Disney+ original International content that is over the rating limit (maximum TV-14 and PG-13) in United States market begins to release on Hulu.
Starting August 15, 2011, viewers of content from Fox and related networks are required to authenticate paid cable or satellite service wherever Fox streams episodes, including on 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.Brian Stelter, The New York Times. " Fox to Limit Next-Day Streaming on Hulu to Paying Cable Customers ". July 26, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
On October 28, 2011, Hulu announced that they had signed a five-year deal with The CW, giving the streaming site access to next-day content from five of the six major networks.Wasserman, Todd, Mashable [4] On September 18, 2013, Hulu announced a multi-year deal with the BBC that would deliver 2,000 episodes from 144 different titles in the first 12 months.
In 2015, Hulu began offering content from Showtime for an additional $8.99/month, which is cheaper than Showtime's own streaming service. On June 16, 2016, Hulu announced a deal with the Disney-ABC Television Group for the exclusive SVOD rights to past seasons of seven Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD series, and more than 20 Disney Channel original movies.
The CW's agreement with Hulu ended September 18, 2016; in-season streaming of current CW programs moved to the network's own digital platforms, and Netflix began to carry past seasons of The CW's programs through 2019. , a limited amount of content from CBS's library is available on-demand, mostly limited to shows that are no longer producing new episodes. A deal was reached to bring live broadcasts of CBS and several affiliated channels to Hulu's upcoming live streaming service as well as to make more shows available on-demand.
In April 2018, Hulu announced a partnership with Spotify that allows users to purchase both streaming services for a discounted price per month. This discount also includes an even larger discounted rate for university students.
Hulu distributes video on its own website and syndicates its hosting to other sites, and allows users to embed Hulu clips on their websites. In addition to NBC, ABC and Fox programs and movies, Hulu carries shows from networks: A&E, Big Ten Network, Bravo, E!, Fox Sports 2, FX, PBS, NFL Network, Oxygen, RT America, Fox Sports 1, SundanceTV, Syfy, USA Network, NBCSN, and online comedy sources such as Onion News Network. Hulu retains between thirty and fifty percent of advertising revenue generated by the shows it distributes.
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, and Warner Music Group in December 2009.
In early March 2010, Viacom announced that it was pulling two of the website's most popular shows, The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, off Hulu. New York Daily News article: " Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report' off Hulu ." The programs had been airing on Hulu since late 2008. A spokesman for Viacom noted that "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."Multichannel News article: " Dauman: Vivendi Could Return To Hulu." In February 2011, both shows were made available for streaming on Hulu again. The Daily Show was again removed from Hulu in March 2017 in order to push viewers to watch the program on Viacom and Comedy Central's apps.
In 2012, Viz Media, Aniplex of America, and other distributors teamed up to create Neon Alley. It had launched on October 2, 2012, as a 24/7 web channel, but in 2014 it had switched to Hulu-only. The site contained exclusive dub premieres with anime such as Accel World, Blue Exorcist, , Fate/Zero and the uncut version of Sailor Moon. It also had shows such as Naruto and , Death Note, Inuyasha, Bakuman, Ranma ½, One Piece, One Punch Man, and Bleach. It went defunct on May 4, 2016. However, Hulu still hosts over 300 anime from Funimation, Aniplex of America, Viz Media, and Sentai Filmworks, and selected anime began resume to release on Hulu following the deal between Disney and Sony Pictures since 2021.
In April 2017, Hulu signed a first-run license deal with Annapurna Pictures. Hulu also has output deals with IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures.
Hulu in May 2018 announced its first-ever license deal with DreamWorks Animation, becoming the exclusive streaming home for future DWA movies feature films, as well as library films. DWA had streamed exclusively through Netflix since 2013. Films will be available on the service in 2019, while original series will be available later in 2020.
In October 2018, PocketWatch launched 90 22-minute episodes of repackaged content from their YouTube creator partners on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video and partnered with Paramount Pictures to license them to international distributors.
On December 4, 2018, Hulu confirmed an exclusive multi-year first-look SVOD deal with Funimation.
In June 2019, Hulu and FX signed an output deal with Lionsgate, where Hulu and FX would respectably gain the streaming and television rights to films released under the Lionsgate label in 2020 and 2021.
In August 2019, Hulu agreed to control the streaming rights to upcoming films released by Bleecker Street.
On March 2, 2020, Hulu launched a dedicated "hub" for content from FX branded as "FX on Hulu", with the service becoming the exclusive streaming outlet for current and past series from the network. Beginning with Breeders, new episodes of FX original series also become available on Hulu immediately after their television airing, and selected series will also premiere exclusively on the service.
On January 14, 2021, it was announced that following an exclusive 3-week IMAX engagement, Searchlight's Nomadland would be released on Hulu alongside a regular limited theatrical and drive-in run in the United States on February 19.
On April 21, 2021, Disney reached a deal for television and streaming rights to Sony Pictures films from 2022 through 2026, which includes library rights for some of its franchises like Spider-Man, Jumanji and Hotel Transylvania franchises, etc., and licensing anime under Funimation and Crunchyroll brands and anime released by Aniplex of America, and post-pay-one window rights to new releases (after their exclusivity period with Netflix expires). This deal covers Disney+, Hulu, and Disney's television channels. On May 17, 2021, it started Onyx Collective which is a content brand for creators.
On August 31, 2021, Disney announced that it would fold the American version of Hotstar—a niche streaming service targeting Indian Americans—in late-2022, with its original entertainment content migrating to Hulu. Since August 2021, Star India programming has been available to Hulu subscribers.
On April 29, 2015, it was announced that the "Hulu Plus" branding would be discontinued, and that the service would be henceforth marketed as simply "Hulu" to place it in-line with its subscription-only competitors. By then, the service had grown to 9 million subscribers.
In July 2015 Hulu was exploring an advertising-free subscription option for around $12 to $14 a month. This was confirmed as going forward , with a "No Commercials" plan priced at $11.99, $4 more than the $7.99 monthly rate for a "Limited Commercials" subscription, though a few highlighted network series (fewer than 10) would retain pre-roll and post-roll ad pods. Starting in 2019, Hulu plans to begin displaying on-screen ads when the viewer pauses the show, although it is unclear whether this will apply to customers on the $11.99/month No Ads plan.
In May 2016, Hulu announced that it had reached 12 million subscribers. In January 2018, Hulu announced that it had reached 17 million subscribers.
On August 8, 2016, Hulu announced that it would discontinue its free video on-demand content, and syndicate it to Yahoo! on a new website known as Yahoo! Screen. This service featured recent episodes of ABC, Fox, and NBC series until its 2019 discontinuation. The Hulu website is now devoted exclusively to the subscription service.
In May 2018, Hulu introduced 5.1 surround sound on select devices for its original content. Audio quality on Hulu . Hulu. In December 2016 Hulu began streaming content in 4K, also limited to its original content. 4K Ultra HD Now Streaming on Hulu . Hulu Press Release. December 2, 2016. 4K video was quietly rolled back in 2018, and reintroduced in July 2019. Hulu finally brings back 4K streaming after killing it last year . BGR. July 12, 2019. Can you get 4K HDR video on Hulu? Cord Cutters. October 4, 2018. Hulu added HDR for some of its original content in August 2021.
On January 23, 2019, Hulu announced a $2 price drop for the basic ad-supported plan to $5.99. The $5.99 monthly plan has previously been offered as a promotional offer since late 2017 where users that signed up (or reactivated accounts that had previously ended their service) during the offer period would keep the price for an entire year before paying the regular rate.
Since the launch of Disney+ in November 2019, the service has been available in the United States in a bundle with Hulu and ESPN+, priced at $12.99 per-month for the ad-supported tier of Hulu, and $18.99 for the ad-free tier of Hulu. How to get the Disney+ bundle with ad-free Hulu and ESPN+ – Barbara Krasnoff, The Verge, November 14, 2019
On September 7, 2021, Disney announced that Hulu would be getting a price increase on October 8, 2021. The ad-supported Hulu plan would increase from $5.99 to $6.99 a month, while the ad-free Hulu plan would increase from $11.99 to $12.99 a month. The Hulu live TV plan and the Disney bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu with ads and ESPN+ for $13.99 a month, would not get a price increase at this time.
The service, originally marketed as "Hulu with Live TV," launched in Software testing on May 3, 2017, featuring content from NBCUniversal (Bravo, Cozi TV, NBC, Oxygen, SYFY, Universal Kids, and Telemundo), A+E Networks (A&E, History, and Lifetime), CBS Corporation (CBS, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, and Showtime), and Scripps Networks Interactive (Cooking Channel, Food Network, and HGTV). The service was later renamed "Hulu + Live TV" and included live streams of more than 75 broadcast and cable-originated channels, including feeds of the five major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW – as well as cable channels owned by Hulu-part-owner Disney, along with NFL Network, Paramount Global with Showtime, A+E Networks, Comcast's NBCUniversal, Fox Corporation, Warner Bros. Discovery with HBO, Cinemax, and Starz available as add-ons for an extra fee. Hulu representatives stated that it intends to negotiate carriage agreements with independently owned broadcasting groups to gain distribution rights to local stations from additional markets.
By May 2018, the service had reached 800,000 subscribers.
On November 29, 2018, Hulu + Live TV added the Discovery Networks (Discovery, TLC, MotorTrend, Animal Planet and Investigation Discovery) to the Scripps Networks Interactive package featured within the Hulu + Live TV core offering. More Discovery-brand channels were also made available through add-on packages; Destination America, Discovery Family, Science Channel, Discovery Life, and American Heroes Channel were added to the $7.99-per-month Entertainment package and Discovery Channel and Discovery Familia were added to the $4.99-per-month Spanish language package.
In the third quarter of 2019, Hulu overtook Sling TV as the top OTT pay television service in the United States, with 2.7 million subscribers.
The service was initially priced at $39.99 per-month. In December 2019, the price had been increased to $54.99 per month (after having previously been raised to $44.99). In November 2020, the rate for Hulu + Live TV increased to $64.99 per month. The rate for the ad-free plan with Live TV included also increased to $70.99.
On January 19, 2021, Nexstar's NewsNation launched on Hulu + Live TV. On April 30, the service added nine ViacomCBS (now Paramount) networks (BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, VH1, CMT, Nick Jr. Channel, and TV Land) to the base package, along with BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nicktoons and TeenNick on the Entertainment add-on. On November 10, Disney stated that Hulu + Live TV had reached four million subscribers. On December 21, it was announced that unlimited DVR, Disney+ and ESPN+ will be included with Hulu + Live TV moving forward, but the price of the service would be increased by $5.
On November 14, 2022, Hulu announced that it had added The Weather Channel and Comedy.TV at the start of the month and that Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries would be added that day. Hallmark Drama also became available in the Entertainment Add-On. Hulu also announced that on December 1, five Vevo music video channels would be launched, along with theGrio, JusticeCentral.TV, and The Weather Channel en Español.
On January 6, 2025, FuboTV agreed to sell a 70% majority stake in its vMVPD business to Disney and merge with Hulu's live TV service. The merged company will be led by Fubo's executive team and remain a public company, but with Disney holding majority control of its board. Both the Fubo and Hulu + Live TV services will continue to operate under their respective brands, with Fubo being responsible for carriage negotiations. The deal excludes the Hulu video on-demand service, which will continue to be exclusively held by Disney. As part of the agreement, Fubo also settled with a lawsuit against ESPN Inc. (majority-owned by Disney), Fox Corporation, and Warner Bros. Discovery due to their announcement of a Venu Sports, with Fubo winning a lawsuit in August 2024 and being granted a preliminary injection to stop its launch. The consortium plans to make a one-time payment of $220 million. Fubo also reached a carriage agreement for Disney's suite of channels. The merger is expected to be completed between 12 and 18 months, pending regulatory approval.
On March 3, 2025, Hulu streamed 97th Academy Awards, making the first time that the Oscars were streamed online. However, the airing was plagued with multiple technical problems. These included some server outages in the beginning of the award ceremony, as well as the live event ending just before the Best Actress nominees were announced.
Following a distribution deal between TelevisaUnivision and Disney Entertainment, TelevisaUnivision channels (including Univision, UniMás, TUDN and Galavisión) have been available on the service since June 3, 2025.
The reliability of these metrics has been drawn into question, partly due to widely divergent estimates. For example, between May and June 2010, ComScore updated its scoring methodology and its estimates for Hulu. Hulu's viewers would go from 43.5 million to 24 million in one month. In a comScore digital trends report in 2010, comScore's Digital Year in Review report found that Hulu was watched twice as much as viewers who watched on the websites of the five major TV networks combined.
Hulu in May 2018 announced it has surpassed 20 million subscribers in the United States. The tally, which puts the company about 36 million subscriptions behind Netflix, was disclosed at a media presentation at the newly named Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Hulu said it has grown total engagement by more than 60%, with 78% of viewing taking place in the living room on connected TVs.
At the 2016 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, Hulu's first-released documentary, won the award for Best Music Documentary. The documentary also received Grammy Awards for Best Music Film at the 2017 Grammy Awards and Best Documentary at the 16th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards. At the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the documentary earned two Emmys including Outstanding Sound Editing and Outstanding Sound Mixing.
At the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2016, Hulu received its first Emmy Award nominations for its Original series, 11.22.63 and for Triumph's Election Special 2016. In 2016, Hulu received its first Golden Globe Awards nomination for its original series Casual for TV series, Comedy.
In 2020, Hulu original series The Bravest Knight won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids and Family Programming.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Hulu its 'Best Live Streaming Service' of 2022.
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