Hulu

Hulu, Internet streaming service, launched in 2007, that provides advertiser-supported videos of television shows and films. Access is limited to viewers in the United States because of international licensing restrictions.

On March 22, 2007, NBC Universal (owner of NBC and Universal Studios) and News Corporation (owner of the Fox Broadcasting Company and 20th Century Fox) announced the creation of Hulu, with a $100 million investment from Providence Equity Partners and Internet distribution deals with AOL, MSN, Myspace, and Yahoo!. A private “beta” version of the service was launched on October 29, 2007, and Hulu was opened to the general Internet public on March 12, 2008. The Walt Disney Company, through its subsidiary ABC Enterprises Inc. (owner of the American Broadcasting Company), announced on April 30, 2009, that it had taken an equity stake in Hulu and would provide some of its television shows and feature films through Hulu and associated Web partners such as AOL. In 2013 News Corporation’s stake in the company was transferred to 21st Century Fox, one of the two conglomerates formed from the split of its publishing and television/film holdings.

As the number of offerings at Hulu went from a few dozen to more than a thousand in its first year, several cable and satellite television providers protested that they were paying the networks large subscription fees to carry their programming and that Hulu was hurting their business. Although Hulu typically streams television shows only some days after they are first broadcast and offers them for only a limited time, the number of viewers who regularly watch shows on the Internet continued to grow steadily. In addition, growing numbers of individuals found that they could watch any show they wanted over the Internet and therefore could do without separate cable or satellite television subscriptions.

In 2019 the Walt Disney Company bought 20th Century Fox and became the majority owner of Hulu. Disney also acquired WarnerMedia’s share of Hulu, and it was announced that, after 2024, Disney would buy Comcast’s interest in Hulu, which would make Disney the sole owner of the company.