Hulu.com Adds Content, Goes Live

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3/12/08

Kicking yourself for missing the Lipstick Jungle premiere? Hulu can help.

Hulu.com, a video site from NBC Universal and News Corp, is now available to the general public. The site provides full-length access to more than 250 TV show like NBC's 30 Rock and Fox's Prison Break as well as 100 movies like The Usual Suspects and The Big Lebowski.

Hulu kicked off its private beta in October with content from MGM, Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Fox and NBC. It will now also include selections from Warner Bros Television Group, Lionsgate, NBA NHL and 20 additional content providers, Hulu said. Content is also available on partner sites like AOL, Comcast's Fancast.com, MSN, MySpace, and Yahoo.

Access to the site is free and ad-supported. Hulu also received a $100 million cash infusion from private equity firm Providence Equity Partners.

In addition to current TV hits, Hulu will also feature access to now defunct shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The A-Team, Miami Vice, Doogie Howser, WKRP in Cincinnati, Airwolf, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Other available movies include: Ice Age, Three Amigos, and Mulholland Drive.

Hulu will also feature short clips from more recent movies like Juno and The Devil Wears Prada, as well as TV shows like Saturday Night Live and In Living Color.

Hulu has complete lists of available TV shows and movies.

Earlier this year, rival online video provider Veoh announced that it would pull content from Hulu for its site, though Hulu was not particularly concerned. "We encourage the viral distribution of Hulu content in accordance with our terms of use," a spokeswoman said at the time.

During its beta period, more than 50,000 Hulu video players were embedded on nearly 6,000 Web sites, Hulu said. More than 5 million viewers watched videos on Hulu.com and its partner sites in the last 30 days. The content is currently only available to users in the United States.
[Edited 3/12/08 12:14pm]