NBC/News Corp.'s "Hulu" goes public with free TV shows, movies

Hulu, the online video service developed by the two media titans - News Corp and NBC Universal, is set to go live on Wednesday (12th March 2008), nearly five months after it entered private beta testing.

The joint venture will make its public debut with programming from Time Warner Inc.'s television group, Lions Gate Entertainment and sports groups, including NBA, NHL and NCAA.

“Today Hulu is crossing a milestone in its mission to help people find and enjoy the world’s premium content, when where and how they want it,” said Jason Kilar, chief executive officer of Hulu. “With full-length episodes of current and archived television shows, feature films, sport and news, we believe the Hulu service is a step forward in giving consumers entertainment on their terms.”

This online video service was first announced in March 2007 by NBC Universal and News Corp. executives and the site was launched in beta in October. The company received large amounts of funding, $100 million of which came from Providence Equity Partners.

Hulu, which primarily offered content from its founders, News Corp and NBC Universal, will, at launch, offer full-length episodes of more than 250 TV series from current hits such as "The Simpsons" as well as older shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", along with 100 full-length movies including "The Big Lebowski" and "Mulholland Drive."

The deal with Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) will bring full episodes of "Babylon 5," "Welcome Back Kotter" and clips from "Friends." Hulu will also carry "Requiem for a Dream" and "Killing Zoe" from Lionsgate on its Website.

In addition to existing television and recently added video content, Hulu has also signed video licensing deals with the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

The nightly highlights and top plays from the NBA and the NHL as well as Web-based programmers like "Prom Queen" and "Onion News Network" will be available on Hulu.com. The site, which was created to bring together the widest selection of premium video with an elegant, easy-to-use interface, will also showcase full-length NCAA men's basketball tournament games from the past 25 years.

In the past 30 days, during the site's beta run, more than five million users watched the ad-supported content either on Hulu.com or through its distribution network that includes Hulu’s partner sites (AOL, Comcast's Fancast.com, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo!) and other Web sites where users have embedded Hulu videos.

"If you make media truly easy and put the user at the center, they will respond," Kilar said. "That's what we're dedicated to."