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Hulu
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Hulu is a website that offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox and many other networks and studios. Hulu videos are currently offered only to users in the United States. Hulu provides video in Flash Video format, including many films and shows that are available in 480p. In addition, some TV shows and movies are now offered in high-definition. Hulu also provides web syndication services for other websites including AOL, MSN, MySpace, Yahoo! and Comcast's Fancast.com.
Hulu is a joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp, with funding by Providence Equity Partners, which made a USD$100 million equity investment and holds a 10% stake.
The name Hulu comes from a Chinese proverb , in which it means holder of precious things.
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Encyclopedia
Hulu is a website that offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox and many other networks and studios. Hulu videos are currently offered only to users in the United States. Hulu provides video in Flash Video format, including many films and shows that are available in 480p. In addition, some TV shows and movies are now offered in high-definition. Hulu also provides web syndication services for other websites including AOL, MSN, MySpace, Yahoo! and Comcast's Fancast.com.
Hulu is a joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp, with funding by Providence Equity Partners, which made a USD$100 million equity investment and holds a 10% stake.
The name Hulu comes from a Chinese proverb , in which it means holder of precious things. Literally, it refers (in Chinese) to the calabash gourd, which is often used as a container for water and liquor.
History
The Hulu venture was announced in April 2007, with AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! planned as "initial distribution partners". The nickname "Clown Co." was dubbed for this joint venture. Jason Kilar was named the CEO in June. The name Hulu was chosen in late August 2007, when the website went live, with an announcement only and no content. It invited users to leave their email addresses for the upcoming beta test. In October, Hulu began the private beta testing by invitation, and later allowed users to invite friends. Hulu launched for public access in the United States on March 12, 2008.
Hulu began an advertising campaign during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII with an initial ad starring Alec Baldwin entitled Alec in Huluwood, intended to humorously reveal the shocking "secret behind Hulu", portraying the site as being an "evil plot to destroy the world".
Features
Hulu distributes video both on its own web site and syndicates its hosting to other sites, and allows users to embed Hulu clips on their websites. In addition to NBC and FOX programs and movies, Hulu carries shows from other networks such as Comedy Central, PBS, USA Network, Bravo, Fuel TV, FX, SPEED Channel, Sci Fi, Style, Sundance, E!, G4, Versus, Noggin TV, Nick Jr., PBS KIDS Sprout, Disney Channel and Oxygen.
Availability
Currently, Hulu's content is only available in the United States with licensing reasons cited. An exception to this was Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which was made available without regional restrictions for a limited time on Hulu, and was since added to the iTunes Store. As of February, 2009, Hulu has pulled its content from CBS Corp.'s tv.com, and from Boxee, a software firm that makes Internet video suitable for viewing on a large screen, like a television connected to a PC.
See also
External links
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