MikeHopkins
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Hulu's push for exclusives gets a big boost from Fox (update)
As we've said so many times (this week) the battle between streaming services has become all about what exclusive content each one has to offer, and with HBO joining in soon it's only going to get tougher. It's no surprise then, that Hulu's next attempt to get a leg up on the competition is coming with help from the cable arm of part-owner (and former employer of its CEO Mike Hopkins) Fox. Hulu is about to become the best/only place to watch FX (and FXX, and FXXX whenever that launches) shows without a cable subscription and access to FX Now apps. So don't expect to see hows like Tyrant, The Strain, You're The Worst and Married on Netflix or Amazon, they're spoken for. That also goes for new shows debuting next year like the Louis CK / Zach Galifianakis production Baskets and the M Night Shyamalan Fox miniseries Wayward Pines.
Hulu sells its Japan operations to a local broadcaster, licenses brand name and tech
Hulu jumped into overseas expansion of subscription video streaming services around the same time as its competitors Netflix and Amazon, but now it's taking a step back. New CEO Mike Hopkins announced one of his first big moves in a blog post, revealing that Hulu Japan has been sold to Nippon TV, one of the top TV networks in the country. In Japan the Hulu Plus-style approach has been the only one offered, with a pay subscription opening up access to a mix of local and imported-from-the-US programming, including HBO. According to Hopkins, not a lot should change for subscribers. While Nippon TV will take over day-to-day operations and expand the content available with some of its own stuff, Hulu is licensing its brand and technology to the company.
Hulu Plus passes 5 million subscribers, plans to double its original content
New Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins chimed in this week with the video streaming site's yearly recap, and pointed out a few big numbers as evidence it's headed in the right direction. In 2013 Hulu will top $1 billion in revenue and 5 million paying customers for its Hulu Plus service, which compares to $695 million and 3 million subscribers in 2012, and 4 million subscribers back in April. That's not a bad haul for a site that was almost sold -- again -- and lost former CEO Jason Kilar this year, but while those numbers are up, they were going up faster last year. All the while its competition is getting stronger as Netflix has over 40 million subscribers, Amazon pushes its Prime subscription service with licensed content and new original shows, and the TV networks that feed Hulu roll out streaming sites of their own (Fox Now, Watch ABC). Still, Hulu's trump card is that it offers current season TV shows many others don't have yet, and Hopkins proudly notes it has seven of the current top ten TV shows ready for streaming at any time. Right now Hulu hosts over 2,900 TV series, with plans to take this year's 20 original series and double that number "over the next few years." Like Netflix and Amazon, Hulu isn't posting viewer numbers, but Hopkins says original shows like The Wrong Mans, Behind the Mask and The Awesomes performed "extremely well" and are among the top 10 shows viewed. We think Hulu could use a drama like House of Cards to pull in viewers next year, but one more year of sale or IPO rumors about it splitting off from owners Disney, Fox and NBC Universal could be just as entertaining.
Hulu officially announces its new CEO, former Fox exec Mike Hopkins
Hulu has had a tumultuous 2013, as it lost founding CEO Jason Kilar in January, then went through the sale process, again, before sticking with its original owners, again. Confirming last week's rumors from Bloomberg and Reuters, the new CEO is Mike Hopkins, most recently head of distribution for Fox. He replaces acting CEO Andy Forssell, who took the wheel in March after Kilar's departure. In his introductory letter to the team, Hopkins mentioned Hulu expects "close to a billion dollars" in revenue this year, along with a rising number of Hulu Plus subscribers. Part-owners Disney and News Corp (Comcast retains a stake after its purchase of NBC Universal, but can't vote) reportedly disagreed on the site's future, with Disney preferring an advertising-based approach. Appointing Hopkins as the new leader suggests News Corp's reported focus on subscriptions is taking priority, and there's speculation that Hulu will become more deeply involved in TV Everywhere authenticated viewing based on cable and satellite TV subscriptions. Hulu has long pitched itself as complementary to cable, we'll see if its apps end up looking more like the BTN2GO and Fox Now apps that Hopkins' team at Fox worked on.
