#ThursdayTool - Hulu

Music Service Profile: Hulu

Name: Hulu

Synopsis:

Hulu is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake that is pending sale to Disney; which would make Hulu into a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney. It was launched on October 29, 2007, and offers a library of films and television series from studios including 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Disney Television Studios, ABC, Freeform, and FX Networks among others, as well as Hulu original programming.

Hulu was initially established as a joint venture between News Corporation and NBC Universal, Providence Equity, and later The Walt Disney Company, serving as an aggregation of recent episodes of television series from their respective television broadcasting. In 2010, Hulu launched a subscription service, initially branded as "Hulu Plus", which featured full seasons of programs from the companies and other partners, and un-delayed access to new episodes. In 2017, the company launched Hulu with Live TV—an over-the-top live TV service featuring broadcast programing channels.

As of April 1, 2023, Hulu has a total of 48.2 million subscribers in United States. In 2011, Hulu launched its services in Japan, marking its first and only international expansion. However, in 2014, Hulu Japan was spun off and acquired by Nippon TV.

Type of business

Subsidiary

Type of site

OTT video streaming platform

Area served

United States

Owner

The Walt Disney Company (67%)

Comcast (through NBCUniversal) (33%) (until 2024; sale to Disney pending)

Key people

Joe Earley (President)

Parent

Disney Streaming (Disney Entertainment)

URL

hulu.com

Advertising

Yes

Registration

Required

Users

Increase 48.2 million (as of April 1, 2023)

Launched

October 29, 2007

Current status

Active