Hulu Adds Three U.K. TV Shows as Battle With Netflix Heats Up
Hulu.com, the online streaming service controlled by three of the biggest U.S. broadcasters, acquired rights to three popular U.K. television shows, boosting competition with Netflix Inc. and other video sites.
“Misfits” premieres June 20, while “Whites” and “The Booth at the End” will be available starting in July on Hulu’s subscription and free services, the Los Angeles-based website said in a statement. New episodes of all three programs will be released each week through the current on-air season.
Hulu is adding new TV shows and films as competition for online viewers and subscribers heats up with Netflix and Google Inc.’s YouTube. This month Hulu started showing Miramax’s “Good Will Hunting,” “Pulp Fiction” and other movies, and in April the Hulu Plus subscription service became available on Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox video-game console. Hulu’s owners include Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s ABC, News Corp.’s Fox and Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBC.
“We are constantly beating the bushes for great shows,” Andy Forssell, senior vice president of content acquisition and distribution at Hulu, said in an interview. “Our first partners were the major networks and studios. We’ve broadened our approach to reach great content wherever it’s produced.”
“Misfits,” which airs on Channel 4 in the U.K., follows five teenagers sentenced to community service for committing crimes who gain superhero powers after an electrical storm. “Whites” is a BBC comedy about a chef who has lost his zeal though not his talents.
Web Series
“The Booth at the End,” a thriller from Michael Eisner’s Vuguru LLC, features a mysterious man seated at the end of a diner who solves people’s problems and heals the sick in exchange for their completing difficult tasks of his own. The show began as a Web series, and episodes have appeared on News Corp. (NWSA)’s FX channel in the U.K.
Hulu has exclusive U.S. rights to stream the programs over the next several months and plans to use them to promote its $7.99 a month Hulu Plus service, Forssell said. Hulu Plus offers full seasons of shows, while the free version is more limited.
The shows, particularly “Misfits,” will reach male and female viewers ages 18 to 34, a group targeted by advertisers, he said.
“We look for shows that have a hook,” Forssell said. “We want shows where after an episode, or 10 minutes with ‘The Booth,’ you want to e-mail 10 of your friends. It’s crucial to have those shows because our platform is ripe for sharing.”
Hulu Plus will have 1 million paying subscribers by year- end, Chief Executive Officer Jason Kilar said in an April blog post. Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, said that month that it had 23 million paying subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
To contact the reporters on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page