Hulu

Hulu, created in 2007, is one of the leading website and over-the-top (OTT) subscription service that provides on demand streaming of TV shows, webisodes and other popular media such as trailers, clips and movies.



What really makes Hulu shine is the amount of content that it provides. From its vast resources, it brings together a huge selection of videos from over 260 content companies including media giants such as FOX, NBCUniversal, ABC, Criterion, A&E Networks, Lionsgate, Endemol, MGM, MTV Networks, Comedy Central, National Geographic, Digital Rights Group, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., TED and more.

It is unsurprising that is able to legally provide media from so many companies because it is a joint venture of NBCUniversal (Comcast/General Electric), Fox Entertainment Group (News Corp) and Disney-ABC Television Group (The Walt Disney Company) with funding by Providence Equity Partners.

To top it off, Hulu is constantly evolving and add more features to make its videos more accessible and easy to use. Currently only requires Flash player to view (which most computers and some smart mobile devices have). Now there is Hulu Plus, a premium service that greatly amplifies the satisfaction that Hulu provides. Besides offering more content, Hulu Plus offers high definition viewing of your favorite shows from a variety of electronic sources.

Some of the many popular full TV shows that can be found on Hulu include The Simpsons, 30 Rock, Bob's Burgers, Modern Family, Glee, The Office, Jersey Shore, The Daily Show and many cartoons or animated series as well. Additionally, Hulu offers a wide variety of full movies and documentaries.




The name Hulu comes from Chinese characters which mean a "bottle" or "gourd" or "interactive recording". As the company blog explains, "...in ancient times, the Hulu was hollowed out and used to hold precious things. The secondary meaning is "interactive recording." We saw both definitions as appropriate bookends and highly relevant to the mission of Hulu" Hulu's mission statement is: "Hulu's mission is to help people find and enjoy the world's premium video content when, where and how they want it. As we pursue this mission, we aspire to create a service that users, advertisers and content owners unabashedly love."

Personal Opinion:

I personally love Hulu because as a poor college student, I can't or am unwilling to pay for the amount of content that I watch online. Thus I have spent many frustrating hours scouring the web for free streaming videos of shows and movies. Most times the quality is terrible or the page is filled with ads and/or viruses. Hulu allows me to find and watch videos quickly, easily and with good quality.

I think that the introduction of a premium account was very smart on their move as now there is a strong fan based that is somewhat addicted to the quality service that they offer. For $7.99 a month, it is more than affordable especially if you don't pay for cable television anymore.


References:
http://www.hulu.com/about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulu
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/hulu