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Hulu adds A&E, History and Viceland to its live TV lineup

The service reportedly won't offer Viacom networks, though.

AP Photo/Dan Goodman

Hulu's live TV streaming service, set to debut later this spring, just got an even bigger channel selection. On Friday, Hulu announced a new partnership to add the A+E Networks family of six channels, including A&E, History, Lifetime and Viceland, but the additions come with a few tradeoffs. According to Bloomberg, Viacom has reportedly backed away from a potential Hulu deal, meaning the service could lose access to content from Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

The new channels build on Hulu's already impressive core lineup that includes the major broadcast players like CBS, Fox, Disney and Time Warner as well as their sports, entertainment and documentary subsidiaries. With A+E Networks on board, Hulu subscribers will be able to stream content like A&E's Emmy-winning Born This Way, Lifetime's Project Runway and Viceland's Weediquette both on-demand or as they air live.

Meanwhile, the fallout with Viacom comes as no surprise since new CEO Bob Bakish has focused on rebuilding his company's relationships with traditional TV providers by cutting out the streaming deals, even as those pay TV services are bleeding subscribers and cord-cutting becomes the norm in more and more homes. Despite the potential loss of Viacom, Bloomberg also notes that AMC, Discovery and Scripps Networks (which owns HGTV, Food Network and the Travel Channel, among others) are all negotiating for spots on Hulu's lineup as well.