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UPDATE: WSJ Says DirecTV Also Mulling A Piece Of Hulu

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 4:26pm PDTTags: DirecTV, Hulu, Time Warner Cable

UPDATE, 4:26 PM: The second company eyeing a Hulu stake is DirecTV, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

PREVIOUSLY, WEDNESDAY AM: Time Warner Cable, the country’s No. 2 cable service and a second unidentified pay-TV entity are considering taking a piece of the ad-supported streaming-video service, The Wall Street Journal reports. Slower growth in the pay-TV sector has the NY-based Time Warner Cable paying more attention to its broadband operations lately. Disney, News Corp and Comcast own about a third each of the 6-year-old service, which recently topped the 4 million-subscriber mark. Other groups mulling a stake in Hulu include Yahoo and the Chernin Group, run by ex-News Corp. exec Peter Chernin.

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Chase Carey Says Broadcasters Need To Break Rules

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday May 8, 2013 @ 2:58pm PDTTags: Broadcast Upfronts, Chase Carey, Hulu, News Corp

It isn’t the kind of thing a network exec wants to admit the week before broadcasters open the upfront ad sales season. But the News Corp COO, in a quarterly call with analysts, couldn’t avoid the fact that this season’s ratings declines show “it’s not been a great year for the broadcast business overall from a creative perspective.” Carey says it’s time for networks to “discard a few habits and rules and take some shots. Hopefully next week will be the beginning of that process.” While he didn’t offer specifics, he says one possibility is to “be a bit more targeted [in programming] and invest deeper—take fewer bets and bet deeper.” Carey acknowledged that as digital video becomes more popular “there’s no question there’ll be more and more choices and people will find those choices.” But the exec says he still has faith in broadcasting — as long as it can collect revenues from subscriptions as well as ad sales. He declined to offer more insight into his recent threat to make Fox a pay TV service if the courts jeopardize the dual revenue stream model. Some analysts say that could happen if justices agree that streaming service Aereo can distribute local over-the-air signals without paying broadcasters. “If that dual revenue stream is not available, there are other paths we can pursue,” Carey says. He adds that the “most exciting” opportunity for Hulu is to focus on boosting subscriptions. Broadcasters can add “original and other unique product” and “take advantage of its leadership position in the digital space.” Read More »

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Hulu Touts Record Revenue, Original Series At Upfront Presentation

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday April 30, 2013 @ 9:30am PDTTags: Eva Longoria, Hulu, Hulu Plus, Seth Meyers

Hulu said today during its upfront presentation in New York that it set a revenue record in the first quarter of this year with $695M, and that Hulu Plus subscriptions passed 4 million subscribers after doubling in 2012. The service now has almost 2500 TV series and about 57,000 hours of content. Among the talent on hand was Seth Meyers and Michael Shoemaker to promote their animated superhero series The Awesomes, one of four original series that will debut this year. Among Hulu’s four announced exclusive series is the Eva Longoria-starring animated series Mother Up!, about a disgraced former music exec who must transition to a life of suburban motherhood. Other talent working up shows are Mario Batali, Carson Daly and Jay Mohr, who is toplining the new game show Money Where Your Mouth Is. Hulu also is streaming Prospect Park’s revamped soap operas All My Children and One Life To Live, which launched yesterday and were the two most-watched TV episodes of the day. Here is  Hulu’s descriptions of its new series: Read More »

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Hulu Greenlights Game Show Series Hosted By Jay Mohr

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday April 30, 2013 @ 7:00am PDTTags: Hulu, Jay Mohr, Money Where Your Mouth Is
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Hulu has picked up Money Where Your Mouth Is, a new comedic game show hosted by actor-comedian Jay Mohr. Financed by Believe Entertainment Group (The LeBrons with LeBron James), Money Where Your Mouth Is, which is being announced at Hulu’s NewFront in New York today, is described as a game show for the man’s man. It will feature lifelong friends who wager their most prized possessions and go head-to-head to take the items from one another in a harrowing battle of “man wits.” Three rounds of competition will include everything from identifying movie quotes and obscure trivia to physical challenges and debating some of the greatest questions that plague mankind, the kind of knowledge every guy uses as the true measure of their manhood.

Related: Hulu Touts Record Revenue, Original Series At Upfront Read More »

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UPDATE: Hulu Starts Sale Process Again – And Peter Chernin Bids $500M For What?

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday April 5, 2013 @ 6:01pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, Big Deals TV, Hulu, Peter Chernin

UPDATE 6 PM: Deadline has learned that Hulu is back up for sale and the bidding process is quietly underway again. Sources close to Peter Chernin confirm that he has bid $500M for Hulu but is … Read More »

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Is Your Internet Slow Today?

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday March 27, 2013 @ 5:25pm PDTTags: Hulu, Netflix

If so you wouldn’t be alone. What’s being called one of the biggest cyberattacks in the history of the Internet has impacted millions of web users and reportedly has caused slowdowns at online video services like Netflix and … Read More »

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Hulu Board IDs Possible Buyers: Reuters

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday March 25, 2013 @ 4:17pm PDTTags: Disney, Hulu, News Corp

Owners News Corp and Disney (Comcast also has a stake but can’t have a corporate role) have been mulling what to do with the online service. Earlier reports said News Corp wants Hulu to focus on … Read More »

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Hulu Names Andy Forssell Acting CEO

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday March 14, 2013 @ 10:18pm PDTTags: Andy Forssell, Hulu, Jason Kilar

Current CEO Jason Kilar who is leaving at the end of the month revealed the news today on Hulu‘s website. “You know Andy well”, Kilar said, “he’s been a critical senior executive and … Read More »

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‘The Good Wife’ Off-Network Rights Sell To Amazon, Hulu, Hallmark Channel, Broadcast Syndication For Nearly $2M An Episode

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday March 13, 2013 @ 8:33am PDTTags: Amazon, Big Deals TV, Hallmark Channel, Hulu, The Good Wife
Nellie Andreeva

In an arrangement that reflects the changing off-network options for serialized dramas, CBS’ The Good Wife has been sold in a complex multi-window deal that involves two streaming partners, Amazon and Hulu; a basic cable network, Hallmark Channel; and broadcast syndication, for what I hear is a combined license fee of nearly $2 million per episode. “This is an off-network model for a unique serialized show in today’s television ecosystem,” said Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corp.

Under the deal, the first three seasons of The Good Wife will become available on Amazon Prime tomorrow, with the current Season 4 coming later this year. Hulu Plus will roll out previous seasons of the show in September 2013, while Hallmark Channel will begin airing The Good Wife in January 2014. A weekend broadcast syndication run is scheduled to begin in September 2014, with the series sold in 85% of the country, including the CBS O&Os, in a barter deal. Read More »

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News Corp & Disney Discuss Future Control Of Hulu: WSJ

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday March 1, 2013 @ 4:35pm PSTTags: Disney, Hulu, News Corp

News Corp and Disney reportedly are in early talks about the future of their jointly controlled online video site Hulu. The Wall Street Journal, citing people with knowledge of the situation, said today that the two companies, … Read More »

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Hulu Acquires Season Two Of Original ‘Homeland’ Format ‘Prisoners Of War’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday January 31, 2013 @ 2:29am PSTTags: Homeland, Hulu, Keshet International, Netflix

Keshet International and Hulu have entered a deal for the second season of Prisoners Of War, the original format upon which Emmy-winning series Homeland is based. The streaming service will run the Israeli show … Read More »

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Deadline Big Media With David Lieberman, Episode 18

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday January 11, 2013 @ 4:56pm PSTTags: Consumer Electronics Show, Deadline Big Media With David Lieberman, Hulu

Here’s episode 18 of our audio podcast Deadline Big Media With David Lieberman, who is just back from a week at the Consumer Electronics Show. This week he and host David Bloom discuss some of the notable news and products out of the show and what it means for media and entertainment companies. They’ll discuss whether all those giant, thin, super-high-resolution screens will sell more movies and TV; the latest initiative to entice consumers into the Ultraviolet world and whether it can help shore up the sagging sales of DVDs and Blu-Ray discs; and the departure of Hulu’s CEO and what that means for the streaming-video giant.

Deadline Big Media Episode 18 (MP3 format)
Deadline Big Media Episode 18 (MP4A format) Read More »

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Hulu CEO Jason Kilar And CTO Rich Tom Will Leave In Q1

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday January 4, 2013 @ 1:18pm PSTTags: Hulu, Jason Kilar

Kilar just posted the news on the Hulu blog. He says that he is “currently working with the Board to ensure there is ample runway to manage this transition.” Although Kilar turned Hulu into one of the Web’s most popular video destinations, he has been widely expected to leave. He has had several run-ins with its owners News Corp, Disney, and Comcast, who didn’t share his passion to take Hulu public or sell it. Last year he had to dampen speculation that he might be considered for the top job at Yahoo before the board picked former Google exec Marissa Mayer to be CEO. In August, Variety disclosed an internal strategy memo that included on the agenda: “Outline transition plan for new CEO. Discuss potential candidates and process.” The path for Kilar’s departure was paved in October when the company paid Providence Equity $200M for its 10% stake. That also enabled Kilar to sell his shares back to the company, reportedly for $40M.

Last month, Kilar said on the company blog that Hulu would end 2012 with about $695M in revenue, up 65% vs 2011. Its paid streaming service, Hulu Plus, has more than 3M subscribers, double the number from the previous year. Kilar also said that Hulu invested more than $500M for content in 2012 and also served more than 1,000 advertisers during the year, a 28% increase over 2011. “Since the launch of Hulu in October 2007, we have generated over $1 billion for our content partners,” Kilar noted. Disney CEO Bob Iger calls Kilar “an integral part of the Hulu story,” adding that he’s confident in its executives’ “ability to drive Hulu forward from here.”

Here’s what Kilar said today: Read More »

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Hulu Revenues Up Big In 2012, Says CEO

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday December 17, 2012 @ 10:39am PSTTags: Hulu, Jason Kilar

CEO Jason Kilar took to the company blog today to announce Hulu’s results for 2012. He said the streaming service would close the year with about $695 million in revenue, up 65% over a year ago. … Read More »

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CBS Inks Library Deal For Hulu Plus

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday November 5, 2012 @ 9:23am PSTTags: Big Deals TV, CBS, Hulu

Yes, the agreement brings CBS — the lone major network that doesn’t own a piece of Hulu — a little closer to the streaming enterprise. But not by much. The shows covered by the new deal come from CBS’ vault; they aren’t next day showings of current hits. Series being offered include Medium and CSI: Miami and golden oldies such as Star Trek, I Love Lucy and The Twilight Zone. Also, most of the shows are just being made available to people who subscribe to Hulu Plus, not to the free, ad-supported site. There’ll be some exceptions, but they’ll be announced later. Also, clips from Entertainment Tonight will be available on the free and paid sites beginning on the day they’re broadcast. This isn’t the first time that CBS has worked with Hulu: It provides programming for Hulu’s paid service in Japan, and CW — which is half-owned by CBS — has a deal with the service.

Here’s the release: Read More »

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Hulu Pays $200M For Providence Equity’s 10% Stake & Weighs Big Changes: Reports

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Saturday October 13, 2012 @ 9:31am PDTTags: Hulu, Jason Kilar, Providence Equity Partners

The deal removes the leading non-broadcaster force at the video streaming company that’s controlled by Disney and News Corp and includes NBCUniversal, according to reports in TechCrunch and Bloomberg. Hulu’s said to have borrowed the … Read More »

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Hulu Seals Carriage Deal With Viacom, Adds Nickelodeon To Offerings

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday October 9, 2012 @ 9:37am PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Hulu, Nickelodeon, Viacom

Hulu and Viacom‘s new deal will bring Nickelodeon programming to the Hulu Plus service for the first time beginning immediately with access to five recent episodes of the kids network’s live-action and animated series. The pact … Read More »

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Hulu & BBC Worldwide Americas Re-Team For ‘The Wrong Mans’ Series

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday October 9, 2012 @ 8:58am PDTTags: BBC Worldwide Americas, Hulu

The six-part comedy-thriller comes on the heels of the companies’ first co-production deal for the fourth season of The Thick Of It. Branded a Hulu Exclusive Series, The Wrong Mans stars James Corden and Mathew Baynton as … Read More »

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Brave New Films Launches Hulu Channel For Robert Greenwald Documentaries

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday October 2, 2012 @ 4:40pm PDTTags: Hulu

The social justice media organization, Brave New Films, has launched a new Hulu channel featuring the investigative films of director Robert Greenwald. With groundbreaking works such as “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price,” “Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers,” and “Koch Brothers Exposed,” Brave New Films delivers politically-themed content to Hulu just in time for the election year debates.

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