America is no longer big enough for Hulu. Having successfully launched Hulu Plus, the paid-subscription model for the streaming video-on-demand service, the company – co-owned by NBC Universal, Fox parent company News Corp. and The Walt Disney Co. – wants to expand internationally.
Talking to the Wall Street Journal, chief executive Jason Kilar said that there is an “unmet need” for online television streams globally, adding that an international business model may be difficult considering existing foreign rights deals for a lot of Hulu’s programming. Nonetheless, a source close to Kilar has identified Japan as one of the first international areas Hulu may be targeting, and Kilar himself admitted that the company would be willing to take on new investors in order to fund its expansion.
Considering the crossover with the already-in-progress Global iPlayer rollout, maybe Hulu needs to talk to the BBC…
More On Techland:
Global BBC iPlayer To Be Paid, iPad-Only Service
Hulu Plus Drops to $8 Per Month
Global iPlayer To Offer British Video-On-Demand Internationally