Hulu

Any TV show at any time anywhere is the radical potential of the Internet. And this is the implicit promise of Hulu. Hulu executives largely have their hands tied. Viewers want more shows on more screens. But Hulu’s partners — the big networks — want steady profits. And, for the moment, the networks seem to have the upper hand.

Apple Inc., with $76.2 billion in cash and securities on its books, is considering making a bid for the Hulu online video service, two people with knowledge of the auction said. Apple, the world’s second-most-valuable company, is in early talks that may lead to an offer for Hulu, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Yahoo would pay up to $2 billion to buy Web TV site Hulu from its current owners — Disney, News Corp., Comcast, and private equity firm Providence Equity Partners — according to a source familiar with Yahoo’s M&A plans.

For the disgruntled bunch, or those looking to expand their media-consumption horizons, there are a growing number of options for watching movies and TV shows online, on DVDs or through cable TV’s on-demand services.

The sale of online video site Hulu is entering its next phase, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The potential sale has garnered interest from a bevy of companies, including Amazon, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and DirecTV. But there is one notable exception: Hulu rival Netflix has not courted the site. Journal subscribers can read the full story here.

Now that Hulu is on the auction block, its media company owners are making sure the popular online video website gets plenty of exposure. On Wednesday, at investment bank Allen & Co.’s annual gathering of media and tech moguls in Sun Valley, Idaho, Disney CEO Bob Iger told reporters that Hulu’s owners, which includes Disney, were “committed to selling” the 3-year-old venture.

Media executives gather at Allen & Co.’s Sun Valley conference this week looking to shed assets such as the Hulu video website and G4 game channel amid a declining global stock market and slowing economic growth. Rupert Murdoch and executives from Hulu’s owners will join Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg among about 300 participants scheduled to arrive today for the weeklong annual conference in Idaho organized by the investment bank.

Google Inc. is in preliminary talks to buy online video pioneer Hulu, people familiar with the situation said. Hulu has begun meeting with potential buyers including Google, Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. to drum up interest in a sale, said these people, who requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential. The presentations to the potential suitors are a first step as Hulu’s owners weigh whether to sell the site after having received an overture from Yahoo.

You may have seen the original BBC version of “The Office,” but have you seen the sketch show “A Bit of Fry & Laurie” with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry? […]

The CEO of Endemol, the world’s largest independent production house, says social TV is “going to be huge.” The CEO of Hulu calls it a game-changer. And the research firm Futurescape says social TV has “radical implications for the future of television viewing.” Is it just hyperbole, or are real economics in play? There are three arenas where social TV is quickly gaining traction, and all three have the potential to become billion dollar businesses by themselves.

Hulu.com, the online video site considering a sale, reached a tentative agreement for renewed rights to TV shows from its part-owner, Walt Disney Co., according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The agreement with Disney, which operates ABC, is similar to Hulu’s new arrangement with another co- owner, Fox parent News Corp., said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Despite Hulu’s success as a streamer of premium content, insiders and analysts aren’t surprised that Disney, News Corp. and NBCUniversal are at least considering selling their stakes in the asset.

Hulu, which is jointly owned by The Walt Disney Co., News Corp., Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal and Providence Equity Partners, is preparing to hire bankers to start a formal search process to find a buyer.

Amid looming competition from Netflix and YouTube, the video site will debut Misfits, A Booth at the End and Whites to keep viewers as broadcast shows go on summer hiatus.

On the heels of a similar deal with Netflix, Hulu has partnered with Miramax to distribute hundreds of movies to both paying and non-paying consumers. Members of Hulu Plus, the video hub’s subscription service, will now have access to Miramax’s full film library, including Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Scream and Swingers. In addition, Hulu will offer select films via its central, ad-supported service.

Internet video company Hulu is on track to nearly double its revenue to $500 million and bring its subscriber count to more than 1 million this year, its top executive wrote in a blog post.

Independent film studio Miramax is in licensing talks with Netflix and other video services — including Amazon, Hulu and Google — to distribute its 700-film library online. No agreement has been reached, however the terms for any deal would likely exceed $100 million.

Two of the most influential executives in Hollywood may be stepping off the Hulu board, which would give the chief executive of the popular online video website, Jason Kilar, more latitude to run the business.

Hulu is on pace to haul in half a billion dollars in ad revenue in 2011, according to CEO Jason Kilar. That would represent nearly a 100% increase from the $263 million the company — a joint venture between NBC Universal, Disney and News Corp. — made last year.

Viacom and Hulu announced a broad content agreement Wednesday that brings The Daily Show and The Colbert Report back to Hulu and now also to Hulu Plus. Each of the shows will be available the morning after they originally air.

With TV in the middle of a digital transition, Web TV pioneer Hulu is in internal discussions to dramatically transform itself. But its owners—  NBCU, News Corp. and Disney — are increasingly at odds over Hulu’s business model. Worried that free Web versions of their biggest TV shows are eating into their traditional business, the owners disagree among themselves, and with Hulu management, on how much of their content should be free. (Subscription required)

In its successful bid to acquire NBC Universal, Comcast was not forced to sell off any assets. It did agree, however, to give up NBC’s management role in Hulu, the premier online TV Web site, while retaining a financial stake.

The show and its counterpart on Comedy Central, The Colbert Report, were removed from Hulu in early 2010 when the two parties could not agree on a fair price for distribution. But executives at Hulu and Comedy Central negotiated about restoring the shows as recently as last month, according to two people with direct knowledge of the talks.

One of the FCC’s proposed conditions on the Comcast-NBCU deal will force the merged company to offer NBC’s shows to any Web competitor. That could be a sign that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is trying to kill Hulu.

Online video site Hulu LLC has taken off the table the idea of going public, at least for now, and may consider other financing options, people familiar with the matter said. Hulu also is mulling new subscription plans that could broaden its pay-video offerings beyond the recently introduced Hulu Plus.

Terry Heaton: “Local broadcasting is in the midst of a perfect storm with only two opportunities for tomorrow: a successful MDTV strategy with the digital broadcasting chip in smartphones, and figuring out how to monetize local unbundled, on-demand content. Let’s be real; the day is coming when program makers will distribute their stuff directly to consumers and share money with no network, and we’ve got to be ready.”

Hulu wants to expand its online video service internationally and would be willing to take on new investors to help it do so, Jason Kilar, its chief executive, said Wednesday. Kilar said there is an “unmet need” for an online television service in markets around the world, but he declined to specify what countries Hulu is targeting or its time frame.

Internet video company Hulu slashed the price of its subscription service Hulu Plus, which made its official debut on Wednesday. Hulu knocked down the monthly cost to $7.99 from the preview price of $9.99. Users who subscribed to the preview service, which was available in June, will receive a credit for the price difference, the company said

Will the burgeoning video force hasten Hulu’s demise?

Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, speaking at GigOm’s NewTeeVee conference in San Francisco, said the Web video company now has 30 million users monthly and estimated that it will take in $240 million in 2010, more than double its 2009 revenue.

Bruce Eisen, Dish Network VP of online content development and strategy, told attendees at the Streaming Media West conference that services such as Hulu that offer TV shows for free immediately will cause the industry to start “crumbling.”