Looks like the weekend’s going to start a bit early. Hulu’s subscription-based Hulu Plus service will launch for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 on Friday, and here’s the best part: it’s free for  Xbox Live (Gold and Silver) users until May 6th. After that you’ll have to drop $7.99 per month to kick back and watch your favorite shows from ABC, Comedy Central, FOX, NBC, MTV, and others. Hulu’s even adding Kinect support, which means you’ll be able to play, pause, fast forward, or rewind whatever you’re watching with your voice or with a gesture. Hit the jump for the full release.

Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE Delivers Controller-free TV Shows and Movies; Jack Link’s Sponsors Free Access for all Xbox 360 Owners

With an ever-growing entertainment experience at the center of the home, Xbox 360 will soon offer thousands more HD TV shows and movies via Hulu Plus. The Hulu Plus subscription service will launch on Xbox 360 this Friday, April 29, instantly delivering current season hit TV shows from ABC, Comedy Central, FOX, NBC, MTV, and more, plus classic movies anytime to U.S. Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Hulu Plus subscribers.

“We’re proud deliver the best in entertainment content like no other device in the living room,” said Pete Thompson, General Manager, Xbox LIVE. “Hulu Plus is an important addition to support our continued effort to expand entertainment on Xbox LIVE. And by adding the magic of Kinect, we’re truly transforming the way people enjoy their favorite entertainment.”

A Hulu Plus subscription currently offers hit TV shows and classic movies anytime in HD, including current season episodes of top shows like “Modern Family,” “30 Rock,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and many others. Catch up on complete back seasons of series including “Lost,” or explore hundreds of acclaimed movies from The Criterion Collection. All for just $7.99 a month with limited advertising.

With Kinect for Xbox 360, you can easily control your Hulu Plus entertainment from your couch using your voice as the remote control. Play, pause, fast forward and rewind any video content you are watching using gesture or voice commands, as well as select movies and TV shows recommended for you by Hulu through the Kinect Hub.

Jack Link’s and Xbox “Unlock” Hulu Plus to All Xbox LIVE Members

Launch is just the beginning, too. To celebrate the debut of Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky is unlocking Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE from April 29 – May 6. Through this sponsorship, all Xbox LIVE members (Free or Gold) will be able to enjoy Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE, no Hulu Plus subscription or Xbox LIVE Gold membership required for an entire week. Jack Link’s and Xbox LIVE are also partnering to host an accompanying sweepstakes where users who download the Hulu Plus application can win everything from a vacation for two to a Beaches® Resort to an Xbox 360 GB Console with Kinect. For full details, click www.xbox.com/HuluPlusLaunch

With Xbox LIVE, take your Xbox 360 online and enjoy an expanding catalogue of entertainment from a range of partners, networks and studios around the world, and interact with a growing community of 30 million active members. With the community spending more than one billion hours a month online enjoying entertainment, Xbox 360 is the only place to experience controller-free entertainment with tens of thousands of movies and TV shows in HD streaming, thousands of live and on-demand sports, and millions of songs – all on the biggest screen in your home shared with the people you care about most wherever they are.

Read

Netflix announced a new deal Wednesday that will bring additional content from ABC, ABC Family and the Disney Channel to the company’s online streaming catalog. “Watch Instantly” allows Netflix’s DVDs-by-mail subscribers to stream an unlimited amount of television and movie content to computers and compatible set-top boxes, and now the service is also available as a stand-alone offering for $7.99 per month. New shows that will now be available on Watch Instantly 15 days after their initial air date include “Grey’s Anatomy,”  ”Desperate Housewives” and “Brothers & Sisters.” The deal also brings complete seasons of popular shows like “Lost,” “Ugly Betty” and “Scrubs” to Watch Instantly.

“TV content streamed from Netflix has proven to be immensely popular with our members,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “Adding to our existing Disney-ABC lineup with great network and cable shows, and opening up ABC Family for the first time, are important steps in creating a wide and diverse selection of content Netflix members of all ages can watch.”

The move with Disney-ABC is the latest in a series of deals Netflix has put together in an effort to bolster the new content available in its streaming catalog. Hit the break for the full press release.

Netflix and Disney-ABC Television Group Announce Deal to Stream Array of ABC Network, Disney Channel and ABC Family Shows to Netflix Members

Agreement Includes Prior Seasons of ABC Hits ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Brothers & Sisters,’ plus Favorites from Disney Channel and First-Time Netflix Access to ABC Family Shows

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. and BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Disney-ABC Television Group today announced a new licensing agreement between the two companies that will allow Netflix to stream hundreds of episodes from the ABC Television Network, Disney Channel and – for the first time – ABC Family over the Internet.

The agreement, brokered by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, will add significantly to the growing selection of movies and TV episodes that can be streamed from Netflix.  Once made available to Netflix from Disney-ABC – which, for relevant programming, will be no earlier than 15 days after initial telecast – episodes can be streamed instantly with Netflix memberships starting at $7.99 a month.

Among the highlights, Netflix members will be able to enjoy:

• Prior season episodes of current ABC hit series “Grey’s Anatomy,”  ”Desperate Housewives” and, for the first time on Netflix, “Brothers & Sisters,” all of which are among the network’s most successful and popular TV franchises in recent years.
• Every episode of recent ABC favorites “Lost” and “Ugly Betty,” the latter making its streaming debut at Netflix.
• Each season of several hit series from ABC Studios, including “Scrubs” and “Reaper,” which are both new additions to Netflix.
• A host of content from the Disney Channel, including the hits “Phineas and Ferb” and “Good Luck Charlie,” which are also new to Netflix; updated and expanded offerings of “The Suite Life on Deck” and “Wizards of Waverly Place;” and library offerings from the smash hits “Hannah Montana” and “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.”
• A wide range of content from ABC Family, marking the introduction of ABC Family content streaming from Netflix.  Included are the hit series “Greek,” “Make It or Break It,” “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “Melissa & Joey.”

“TV content streamed from Netflix has proven to be immensely popular with our members,” said Ted Sarandos, the company’s chief content officer.  ”Adding to our existing Disney-ABC lineup with great network and cable shows, and opening up ABC Family for the first time, are important steps in creating a wide and diverse selection of content Netflix members of all ages can watch.”

In addition to the hundreds of TV episodes included in the agreement, Disney Channel and ABC Family movies such as “High School Musical,” “High School Musical 2,” “Camp Rock,” and “Beauty & the Briefcase,” as well as new releases “Avalon High,” “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” and “Revenge of the Bridesmaids,” will also be available to watch at Netflix.

Read

What’s the deal network television? No love for Google TV? Major broadcast networks ABC, CBS, and NBC have already put a software block in place preventing Google TV appliances from accessing their content, and now it seems like Fox is joining the party with its own anti-GTV stance. Blog gtvhub is reporting that basic cable network Fox is blocking access to its online streaming-video content from Google TV devices. Seems pretty lame to us. What do you think, does this affect the utility of Google’s TV software?

Read

Hulu may be getting a healthy dose of new programming content courtesy of Disney. According to sources close to the situation, Hulu and Disney are in serious negotiations to bring Disney programming to the online video portal. The talks reportedly focus on ABC programming content which include the popular TV series  Desperate Housewives and LOST, but may include programming from other Disney assets as well. In exchange for providing content, Disney is requesting an equity stake in Hulu on par with NBC Universal and News Corp and possibly performance incentives. With the relationship between Hulu and CBS souring, Hulu could use a high profile deal to boost its position in the increasingly competitive online video marketplace.

Read