Published: 6:02PM BST 24 Aug 2009
Hulu is a US-based web-TV service, which has been focussed on entering the UK market over the last six months.Originally expected to launch by September 2009, by broadcasters and media agencies alike, the UK roll-out of the free web TV service backed by News Corp, NBC Universal and Disney, is not expected until the early part of 2010.
The Daily Telegraph understands that it is closest to signing a semi-exclusive deal with ITV, in exchange for equity in the company. However, it has yet to get any other content partners on board, despite nearly six months of discussions with BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, since the Competition Commission blocked Project Kangaroo, the three companies’ joint video-on-demand service in February 2009.
“Once ITV is on board, Hulu only needs one more UK broadcaster’s content for launch. It will probably go after a deal with BBC Worldwide, which is not signing exclusive arrangements with anyone and then secure some content from its parent companies. This will give it enough material to launch and probably take three to four months after its first deal with ITV.
“So you’re hopefully looking at a January 2010 launch,” said a source close to the US company.
Hulu, a free advertising-supported service, has also not yet rolled out its product to the major media agencies.
“We haven’t heard anything yet and we are one of the biggest groups responsible for planning and trading adverts in the digital space. To my knowledge Hulu has no presence in the marketplace or a dedicated UK sales team in place,” said Alex Randall, group trading director for Isobar, the digital arm of the Aegis group.
“It will need to present to the media agencies at least two months in advance of launch, in order to get on our clients’ schedules. Plus it may be a big success story in the US, but it’s not a working brand here and will need to sell hard,” he added.
Hulu was unavailable to comment.
Shame. This is a great service and a further key driver for higher broadband speeds. I hope we will see it alongside iPlayer and others in the near future.
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