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Australia is on the top 10 list of countries on Hulu’s international expansion plans, its director of international business development, Simon Gallagher, said at the Media 2010 event.
The web TV service has had explosive growth since it launched in 2007, delivering popular shows to American homes via broadband. A collaboration between Fox and NBC Universal, it aims to combat online piracy of television programs.
The strategy has worked, Gallagher said, citing figures that show a significant fall in pirated shows when the programs were available on Hulu. The service is free for viewers and shows are aired online immediately after they are broadcast in Hawaii (the latest broadcast time in the US). However, he said, significant challenges must be addressed before such a service can be introduced in Australia. These include collaboration between the networks and the cost and speed of broadband access.
”In the US, six out of seven internet users now view internet video every month,” he said. In November, ComScore recorded 33 billion video streams served on the internet.
Hulu’s 200 content partners include Paramount, Warner Bros. and Disney. It features 2200 TV shows and film titles, among them Lost, The Office and Family Guy, and also screens live events. ”Combined, there are more than 70,000 videos and 15,000 hours of total content,” Gallagher said.
Free to web users, Hulu generates its revenue from advertising inserted into its shows. The advertising platform enables clients to tailor a campaign that includes interactive components, such as the viewer being able to select which ad they want to watch. The Los Angeles company has what it considers 400 premium brands as advertisers.
Hulu accounts for just 1 per cent of internet video traffic but Gallagher says it takes the lion’s share (33 per cent) of the online video advertising. Last month, Hulu had 8.5 million unique visitors, according to Compete.