Tag: Hulu

Hulu Teams Up With AT&T To Push For More Subscribers

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: TechCrunch

Right after inking a similar deal with Cablevision, Hulu is attempting to acquire more subscribers by teaming up with another telecom company: soon, AT&T customers will be able to access Hulu content through either the AT&T mobile app or through the AT&T website, and, if they like what they see, sign up for Hulu subscriptions through AT&T as well.

The reasoning behind such a strategy for Hulu here is about getting its subscription in front of as many potential customers as possible. For AT&T, it is about adding more content for viewers who are already paying for cable TV, while also adding the sheen of popular OTT services on its less-than-favorable reputation among customers.

In related news, Hulu announced that it has resurrected former Fox comedy The Mindy Project for 26 more episodes, which we anticipated and explained in detail here when we reported on the show’s cancellation last week.

How The Shifting TV Landscape Caused Mindy’s Cancellation

Posted on by Richard Yao

The TV Upfronts are coming up next week, and reports on the fate of your favorite broadcast TV shows are popping up. The first big surprise cancellation came yesterday when Fox announced that The Mindy Project will not be coming back for a fourth season on the network, making it the first show in seven years to be axed with over 66 episodes under its belt.

Typically, when a network show reaches such numbers, the prospect of lucrative syndication deals would prompt the networks to grant shows with low ratings another season to produce sufficient episodes so as to bulk up its leverage in syndication negotiations. And that’s the way it’s always been done.

But with the recent rise of OTT streaming services disrupting the TV landscape, that rule seems to no longer apply. In this new circumstance, Universal Studios, which produces the show, could easily ship the show off to a streaming service where it can attract a niche audience and cumulate more episode counts, rather than negotiating with Fox to find the show a burn-off time slot for cheap.

And that’s exactly what they are doing – the Mindy Kaling comedy seems to be heading to Hulu, as sources report that the streaming service, partially owned by Fox and NBC Universal, is already in talks to acquire the show for multiple new seasons. If true, Mindy would join high-profile series in development at Hulu as the streaming service bulks up on original content to compete for audience attention.

The Lab has always been fascinated by the shifting landscape of the TV business, and we have been closely following the ongoing trend towards OTT streaming viewing. Come talk to us if you are a media owner or simply want to understand the changing audience behaviors and how to reach the fragmented viewers.

HULU: Where The Cancelled TV Shows Go

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: Hollywood Reporter

Hulu has picked up the unaired episodes of ABC’s canceled and critically panned comedy Manhattan Love Story. The news comes a week after the streaming service picked up unaired episodes of another canceled ABC comedy Selfie. Both freshman shows were pulled off schedule early in the season due to consistently abysmal ratings. If this trend continues, Hulu could quickly become the home for broadcast TV’s second-chance shows.

 

Who is Leading In OTT Video Market?

Posted on by Lab Team

Amazon, Netflix and Hulu are undoubtedly the top three players in today’s over-the-top video streaming market, but which one of them is taking the lead? According to a recent study conducted by Piper Jaffray & Co., Netflix is certainly winning in the general content-licensing front, which continues to outpace Amazon’s subscription-video service. But when it comes to TV shows, Hulu Plus remains ahead of Netflix, delivering “nearly three times as many recent top-rated shows as Netflix”. But Amazon still have the secret weapon of exclusive quality content, especially with its recent deals with HBO and CBS. Xbox recently lifted its limitation of access to both Hulu and Netflix, signaling a deeper integration and wider infiltration of the SVod services. All in all, they are all flawed winners in this fast-growing market. And together the internet-based content provider will continue to take over the content market from the traditional providers, even after the recent supreme court ruling on Aereo.

Xbox To Remove Gold Requirement For Netflix & Hulu

Posted on by Lab Team

As has been rumored for some time, Xbox is going to remove the paywall for streaming media services on the gaming device. Xbox 360 and Xbox One users will no longer need a paid subscription to Xbox Live Gold to get to Netflix, Hulu, and others. Apparently Xbox will put some other services behind the paywall to make up for it, perhaps content like the new TV series that have been promised for months now. That said, this move is a clear concession to the fact that Xbox wants users to stay on their device while streaming in the living room, and having a paywall between a service that is free to use on other devices only served to drive consumers away. Free access to Netflix and Hulu means that Xbox is officially competing with both Nintendo and Sony for consumer access to games and streaming content, as well as against the host of media boxes that have begun to infiltrate more and more living rooms.

Hulu Will Offer Free Mobile Viewing

Posted on by Lab Team

This summer, Hulu wants to ramp up its subscription numbers by offering free viewing for mobile device this summer. It’s part of a broader effort to keep up with Netflix, and to encourage multi-device viewing on the platform that is increasingly being configured to be watched on both mobile and desktop. Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins said that they’re backing this effort up with the campaign this summer – and it strikes the casual observer as a fairly transparent way to hook new users. In conjunction with this effort a new, redesigned iPhone app will be released this summer. As well, Hopkins reiterated that Hulu is in talks with traditional paid-TV providers to integrate with existing cable boxes, which would be a huge win for the on-demand network. 

New Study: Cord Cutting Population Grows

Posted on by Lab Team

Many suggest that more and more cable users are cutting the cord, and moving towards other streaming solutions to satisfy their TV content needs. Now, a new report from Experian Marketing Services looks at exactly how far that trend has progressed, and the answer is actually farther than most would think. Experian defines cord cutters as people with high-speed Internet who have never subscribed – or stopped subscribing – to cable or satellite. That number has risen by 44% in just three years. In 2013, 6.5% of total households across the country could be classified as cord cutting in this way, up from 4.5% in 2010. The most telling statistic, though, is for houses who have Netflix or Hulu; nearly one fifth of Americans who subscribe to these streaming services don’t subscribe to cable at all. And of households within the age bracket of 18-34 who subscribe to Netflix or Hulu, one quarter of those don’t pay for TV. As far as trends go, this one, then, is pretty well defined as young Internet users – i.e. Millennials – who are finding their services online, rather than on TV. As these young adults age, they could very well become the ruling majority rather than an increasing minority.  

Chipotle Looks For TV Partner For Series

Posted on by Lab Team

Chipotle recently produced Farmed and Dangerous, a Hulu series that seeks to be standalone entertainment rather than branded content. The four part mini-series comically condemns the industrial food system and after an initial reach, is seeking a TV network like a Showtime to continue the show. What’s more interesting is that Chipotle spent $1 million on production and developed the concept internally. The move raises two big issues. One, is the ROI justified and two, can branded entertainment run on ad-supported channels without conflict?

Hulu Enables Free Mobile Viewing

Posted on by Lab Team

Hulu’s decision to package short clips for free on mobile is a smart move for the internet TV giant. It serves as a highlight of last night’s TV action, is appropriate for the “snackable” nature of mobile and will serve to convert users to paid subscriptions.  With mobile video viewers increasing from 63.7 million to 74.4 million over the last year according to eMarketer, Hulu is well positioned to capitalize on the growth.

Hulu Plus Now On Nintendo 3DS

Posted on by Lab Team

Hulu, the streaming web content service, announced that it will be providing access to its library to users of the Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo 3DS XL, and the Nintendo 2DS. The two companies worked together to provide a uniform experience across the handheld gaming devices that leverages the unique dual screen option provided by the device. It means that users will be able to browse through content on the bottom screen while playing a video on the top screen. What’s more, Hulu users who have the 3DS and a Wii will be able to swap a show from the Wii to the 3DS as you wish. It seems like a robust system, and is yet another reason for cord cutters to, well, cut the cord.