A corporate exercise led Hulu to create its recently launched virtual pay-TV service.
Ten years after the 2006 launch of its subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, which at first merely served as just a catchup platform for three of the four major broadcast networks, Hulu’s executives were asked to imagine the next decade of their online video platform.
“For us, it’s very simple," Hulu consumer experience chief Ben Smith told FierceOnlineVideo. “TV and movies really matter to people. Simultaneously, people don’t love how they get TV, broadly speaking.”
This led Hulu to combine the forces of its popular all-you-can watch SVOD platform with its new livestreamed vMVPD bundle, Hulu Live TV.
“I don’t think there’s a single person who likes switching devices in their living room,” Smith added. “We wanted to create a platform where you get it all in one place and make that place personalized and built around you.”
Packaging Hulu's extensive on-demand library with a basic cadre of livestreamed broadcast and cable networks for $40 a month, Hulu Live TV just launched in April. It's early—the company hasn't released any subscriber data yet. But make no mistake, Hulu—which has over 12 million subscribers to its SVOD service alone—has created a juggernaut, not only for rival operators of virtual pay-TV services such as Dish Network, AT&T and Sony Corp., but also its chief SVOD rivals, Netflix and Amazon
Read more:
http://www.fiercecable.com/online-video/critical-mass-addition-live-streaming-raises-fears-hulu-has-grown-too-powerful
