TV Network Giants Combine Forces to Launch Hulu

Hulu.com, the outcome of two media and entertainment majors coming together, is set to launch on the Internet today. Started by NBC Universal and News Corp. is the biggest attempt television companies are making to hold on to develop online viewership.

The premise behind the development and launch of such portals is TV networks, by developing portals online that offer multiple programming, would ensure their loyal TV viewers continued to watch the different programs on offer on the Internet as well.

The advantages are indeed many, perhaps the biggest being the drastically reduced air time for commercials. Where viewing TV series and programs could be a distinctly frustrating experience thanks to the amount of commercials aired and the time they consume, the online programs would offer minimal air time for commercials, only 25 percent of the time allotted on television.

Hulu.com is scheduled to kick off with a plethora of programs. The programs to be aired include numerous episodes of programs that have been big hits in the parent networks, NBC and Fox. Viewers would also be able to access a small number of movies at the portal.

There are other features as well that make Hulu an attractive proposition for viewers. Syndicating shows airing on it to four popular online locations. Viewers would also have the option of streaming clips from the shows being aired at the site to their individual blogs.

When the two companies first disclosed the plans about Hulu to the media in March, there were not much of specifics on offer for the analysts and executives from the industry to chew on. That was enough to have all of them give the portal minimal chances of succeeding where other predecessors had failed.

However, the situation on the ground seems to have changed now. Industry executives and analysts have definitely been impressed and excited about the move. Phil Leigh, an analyst with Inside Digital Media, said the two companies in the joint venture had shown a great deal of excitement and aggression to ensure their content, generally protected by stringent copyright measures that would normally have hampered this sort of distribution..

Hulu.com has received large amounts of funding, $100 million of which comes from Providence Equity Partners. The price for the Providence investment was a 10 percent stake in the company.

Hulu has also conducted successful negotiations to receive content material for the programs from other channel networks, such as MGM and Sony Corp. The company would air earlier shows from Sony, such as Married, … With Children and Charlie’s Angels.