Hulu expands its streaming service to Japan - The Independent

The US online streaming service Hulu, which provides television, films, webisodes and other new media, announced on September 1 its launch in Japan, its first international outlet.

With its plan to grow into a global brand, "We are taking a first, but important step to make good on our aspiration to serve customers all over the world," said Johannes Larcher, SVP of International for Hulu in a statement, reported The Wrap.

Hulu has one million paying subscribers to its Hulu Plus service, as well as a free version of the service. Competitor Netflix has 25 million members in the US and Canada and no free viewing.

Currently co-owned by Disney/ABC Television, Fox Entertainment and Comcast/NBC Universal, Hulu made an agreement with CBS, the other major broadcast television network, as of September 1.

The non-exclusive arrangement offers select CBS television shows to be available for Hulu's new subscription service in Japan. Shows include past episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and 90210, and from its archives, Star Trek and David Lynch's Twin Peaks.

This summer, Hulu went up for sale, with potential buyers Google, Amazon, AT&T and Yahoo submitting bids.

The new service in Japan offers subscribers unlimited access to films and television shows without advertising via televisions, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players, smartphones, tablets and PC's, for ?1480 (around €13.50) per month.

RC

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US online streaming site Hulu expands to Japan (AP)

TOKYO – U.S. online streaming site Hulu.com made its international debut Thursday by launching a subscription video service in Japan.

The new service gives users unlimited on-demand access to popular American television shows and movies on computers, televisions, tablets and mobile devices for 1,480 yen ($19) per month.

It is offering a one-month free trial in Japan, where those who register can watch — with or without subtitles — all six seasons of "Lost" or movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Armageddon."

"Today, we are taking a first, but important step to make good on our aspiration to serve customers all over the world," Senior Vice President for International Johannes Larcher said in a statement.

For the launch, Hulu signed licensing deals with major studios and TV networks including CBS, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox. It plans to later add content produced in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.

It also entered an exclusive mobile marketing partnership with Japan's biggest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo.

In a blog post last month, Hulu said it chose Japan because Japanese audiences are "passionate about premium video content" and because Japan is a "major producer of world-class TV and feature films."

The company added that Japan is a particularly attractive market for delivering video over the Internet because of its extensive broadband penetration and the ubiquitous presence of Internet-connected mobile devices.

Launched in 2008, Hulu is owned by NBCUniversal, News Corp., the Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners.

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