26 Facts About Hulu Plus

1.

Hulu Plus is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake.

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2.

Hulu Plus was initially established as a joint venture between News Corporation and NBC Universal, Providence Equity Partners, and later The Walt Disney Company, serving as an aggregation of recent episodes of television series from their respective television networks.

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3.

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 undelayed access to new episodes.

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4.

Name Hulu Plus comes from two Mandarin Chinese words, hulu, "calabash; bottle gourd", and hulu, "interactive recording".

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5.

Individuals who were instrumental in the founding of Hulu Plus include Bruce Campbell, Peter Chernin, JB Perrette, Mike Lang, Beth Comstock, George Kliavkoff, Darren Feher, and Jason Kilar.

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6.

Name Hulu Plus was chosen in late August 2007, when the website went live with an announcement only and no content.

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7.

In October 2007, Hulu Plus began the private beta testing by invitation, and later allowed users to invite friends.

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8.

Hulu Plus generated $420 million in revenue in 2011, $80 million short of the company's target.

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9.

Disney stated that its control of Hulu Plus was the third major component of its direct-to-consumer strategy, complementing its sports streaming service ESPN+, and its then-forthcoming Disney+.

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10.

Hulu Plus would be oriented towards "general" entertainment and content targeting mature audiences.

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11.

In 2015, Hulu Plus began offering content from Showtime for an additional $8.

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12.

Hulu Plus retains between thirty and fifty percent of advertising revenue generated by the shows it distributes.

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13.

In November 2009, Hulu Plus began to establish partnerships with record labels to host music videos and concert performances on the site, including EMI in November 2009, and Warner Music Group in December 2009.

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14.

Hulu Plus has output deals with IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures.

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15.

Wall Street Journal reported in July 2015 that Hulu Plus was exploring an advertising-free subscription option for around $12 to $14 a month.

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16.

In May 2016, Hulu Plus announced that it had reached 12 million subscribers.

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17.

In January 2018, Hulu Plus announced that it had reached 17 million subscribers.

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18.

The Hulu Plus website is devoted exclusively to the subscription service.

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19.

In December 2016 Hulu Plus began streaming content in 4K, limited to its original content.

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20.

Hulu Plus added HDR for some of its original content in August 2021.

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21.

Hulu Plus representatives stated that it intends to negotiate carriage agreements with independently owned broadcasting groups to gain distribution rights to local stations from additional markets.

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22.

In partnership with comScore, Hulu Plus is the first digital company to receive multi-platform measurement at an individual level that includes co-viewing for living room devices.

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23.

At the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, Hulu Plus earned a total of eight awards for the series and became the first streaming service to win Outstanding Drama Series.

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24.

At the 2016 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, Hulu Plus's first-released documentary, The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years won the award for Best Music Documentary.

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25.

At the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, Hulu Plus received its first Emmy Award nominations for its Original series, 11.

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26.

In 2016, Hulu Plus received its first Golden Globe nomination for its original series Casual for TV series, Comedy.

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