Hulu on Monday announced 10 original and exclusive TV shows that will premiere this summer, including one from writer-director-actor Kevin Smith. Smith, known for the cult classic Clerks and numerous other films, will host a half-hour movie “revue” for movie lovers, which will be available on Hulu and Hulu Plus beginning June 4th. “I have always wanted to do a show that provides an open forum for real fans to discuss real movies in real time and that’s what ‘Spoilers’ is about. As a filmmaker and lover of movies, I understand that ultimately it’s the fans who make the film. So in this show, we do not review movies, we revere them,” said Smith. In August, Hulu will launch a travel series called “Up To Speed” from filmmaker Richard Linklater, and in the same month, the company will premiere “an edgy male comedy” called “We Got Next.” The streaming website will also carry seven TV shows that have never been available before in the U.S., including “Rev.,” “The Yard,” “Pramface,” “Derren Brown: Inside Your Mind,” “The Promise” and “Little Mosque,” along with the second season of the sci-fi thriller, “The Booth at the End.” Hulu’s press release follows below.

Hulu Announces New Original Series with Kevin Smith, Premieres Summer Slate of Ten Original and Exclusive TV Shows

Hulu Original Series Include Kevin Smith’s “Spoilers,” “Up To Speed” by Richard Linklater, and “We Got Next”

Hulu Exclusives Include Season Two of “The Booth At The End” and International TV Hits “Rev.,” “The Yard,” “Pramface,” “Derren Brown: Inside Your Mind,” “Little Mosque” and “The Promise”

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Proving that summer doesn’t have to mean the start of rerun season, Hulu today announced a full slate of new original and exclusive TV shows that begin premiering on June 4th on Hulu and the Hulu Plus subscription service. Hulu’s summer lineup offers new TV shows for all kinds of entertainment fans, from comedy, sci-fi, travel, reality and even a little magic. For a preview of the upcoming programming, visit www.hulu.com/hulu-summer-series.

The summer slate announcement kicks off with “Spoilers,” a half-hour movie “revue” for movie lovers hosted by beloved filmmaker and podcasting maven Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Red State”). “Spoilers” launches on Hulu and Hulu Plus on June 4th.

“I have always wanted to do a show that provides an open forum for real fans to discuss real movies in real time and that’s what ‘Spoilers’ is about. As a filmmaker and lover of movies, I understand that ultimately it’s the fans who make the film. So in this show, we do not review movies, we revere them,” said Kevin Smith. “Hulu really lends itself well to a show like this because they have an audience that is passionate and active when it comes to shows they love. And frankly, those are the people I want to hang with.”

In August, Hulu will launch the highly anticipated travel series “Up To Speed” by acclaimed filmmaker Richard Linklater (“Bernie,” “School of Rock,” “Dazed and Confused”) and starring Speed Levitch (“The Cruise”). August also brings the premiere of “We Got Next,” an edgy male comedy co-created by Kenya Barris (co-creator of “America’s Next Top Model”) and Hale Rothstein (writer, producer of “The Game”).

Hulu exclusively offers fans seven popular TV shows never before available to U.S. audiences with the premieres of “Rev.,” “The Yard,” “Pramface,” “Derren Brown: Inside Your Mind,” “The Promise” and “Little Mosque,” along with the second season of the sci-fi thriller, “The Booth at the End.”

“In an on-demand world, viewers are going to actively choose to watch TV shows that they really love. At Hulu, we want to offer exclusive shows and make original TV programming that speaks to a passionate group of fans. Because today, you don’t have to settle for watching something mildly entertaining,” said Andy Forssell, senior vice president of content for Hulu. “We are proud of our summer line-up of Hulu Original Series and Exclusives, and we look forward to delighting our users.”

New data from Nielsen suggests that console owners are using their Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii game consoles to stream video content more than ever before. “Streaming now represents a reported 14 percent of Xbox 360 time, 15 percent of PS3 time and 33 percent of Wii time,” Nielsen said Wednesday. The market research firm explained that the growth in time spent streaming was driven by services such as ESPN 3, Netflix, MLB Network and Hulu, but that time spent using consoles also increased overall. Console usage during the first half of 2011 jumped 7% from the same time period last year. Nielsen said gaming is the most popular activity on Xbox 360 (34% of usage), the PS3 is most used for DVD/Blu-ray viewing (22% of usage) and the Wii is used most for offline gaming (55% of usage).

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Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam recently took the stage during a UBS conference in New York where he explained that Verizon once considered purchasing Hulu. McAdam did not comment on another rumor, which suggests that Verizon is working on building its own video streaming service that could compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Reuters first reported on the rumor and said the service could be deployed next year in areas where Verizon doesn’t offer its FiOS broadband and TV products. It is unclear what programming partners Verizon is speaking with, although Reuters suggested Epix or Viacom would be two content companies that might be interested. ”If this deal comes true it’s not clear to me what Verizon would bring to the table that is materially different to what others like Amazon offer,” Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner told Reuters. McAdams did admit that, while Verizon may not be purchasing Hulu now, his company “[continues] to look at alternatives.”

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Bids for the online streaming company Hulu are due on Wednesday but it is still unclear what the company’s future will hold. Bidders will “submit proposals with wide price ranges based on what types of television shows Hulu would license, when those shows would become available on Hulu and how long the agreements would stretch,” The Wall Street Journal said in a report. Most recently, Hulu changed its licensing terms and now offers television shows eight days after they air, which could turn some viewers off from the service entirely. Previously, Hulu allowed viewers to watch their favorite shows for free the day after they aired, a much more attractive option. Hulu Plus subscribers can still watch new episodes the next day. Rumors surfaced in July that Apple was pondering a Hulu purchase and The Wall Street Journal said Amazon, Google, DirecTV and Yahoo are among those who have been named as potential bidders. Industry insiders have suggested company could fetch between $500 million and $2 billion.

Hulu has confirmed that it is considering a third subscription option that would allow users to stream ad-free TV shows and movies for a higher monthly fee. “We’re currently an ad supported service but are looking into the option of a higher priced ad-free option,” a Hulu representative stated from an official Twitter account. Hulu made several additional comments to the same effect on Friday from its customer support Twitter account. The move would be an interesting one; Hulu dropped the price of its Hulu Plus premium subscription service to $7.99 last November, presumably due at least in part to slower than expected consumer adoption. A new pricier plan in spite of the recent price drop, that could also potentially anger network partners, is a tough pill to swallow —especially as the company looks for a buyer.

[Via GigaOm]

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A firm named Rovi Corp has filed a complaint with the U.S. District court of Delaware alleging that Hulu infringes on one of its patents. Rovi Corp is not often in the headlines but its client list sports names of big hitter tech firms. Reuters said that Rovi licenses technology to Apple, Comcast and Microsoft and is even used to support the back-end of BlockBuster’s On Demand service and Best Buy’s CinemaNow. Hulu was put up for sale on June 24th and a number of companies are rumored to have been considering a bid on the streaming media company, including Apple. Hulu has yet to comment on the lawsuit.

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Apple is toying with the idea of placing a bid on the Hulu video streaming service, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. In June, Hulu announced that it had hired Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners to assist with a the sale of the company and rumor had it that Yahoo! was interested in making a bid at that time. Should an acquisition happen, Apple might use Hulu to create a subscription screaming video offering in an effort to compete with services such as Netflix. Currently, customers can only purchase or rent videos from iTunes. Amazon is also interested in the company, although Bloomberg reported that it won’t make a move unless it can have guaranteed access to television shows. Hulu, which offers a premium Hulu Plus subscription option for $7.99 per month, said that it expects to surpass 1 million subscribers this August.
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When we last heard from social media listening firm Mashwork, we learned that future smartphone buyers were much more interested in purchasing the Samsung Galaxy S II than the 4G-friendly Motorola DROID BIONIC. Mashwork is back on Monday with some more interesting findings: according to the firm’s latest research, 45% more people prefer Netflix over Hulu Plus than vice versa. Pulling data from 10,283 relevant tweets between June 28th and July 6th, 2011, 29% of all users prefer Netflix over Hulu Plus for streaming movies and TV shows, while 20% prefer Hulu Plus over Netflix. Also of note, 51% of those accounted for in Mashwork’s study use both services and are hoping to cut the cord with their cable or satellite TV providers. Hulu certainly would like to have been positioned better in the study; Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed at a recent Allen & Co conference that Hulu owners NBCUniversal, News Corp and Disney/ABC Television Group are currently trying to sell the company. Mashwork’s full infographic follows below.

As an aside, Mashwork is looking for feedback from BGR readers. The company was blown away by the feedback it got after we covered its Galaxy S II vs. DROID BIONIC study, and it wants to know what comparisons our readers might like to see in the future. Do people want a more expensive high-end iPad 2 to compliment the current model? Does QNX really stand to right the RIM ship? Let us know what questions you want Mashwork to help answer in the comments section below.

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Hulu announced on Thursday that its Hulu Plus application is now available on select Android smartphones. The service costs $7.99 per month and allows users to browse and play Hulu Plus content directly on their smartphones. It’s currently only available for the Motorola Atrix, Motorola DROID X, Motorola DROID 2, HTC Inspire 4G, Nexus S, and Nexus One, but Hulu says it will add more devices throughout the year. New users can sign up for a free 1-week trial to give the service a whirl, and the app is available in the Android Market now. In other news, Hulu is also reportedly up for sale. The company has hired Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners to assist with possible deals, and Yahoo is said to have already expressed interest in bidding on the streaming video firm.

[Via Business Insider]

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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.

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Research In Motion is working with Hulu in an effort to provide BlackBerry PlayBook users with access to Hulu’s online videos, The Wall Street Journal is reporting. The BlackBerry PlayBook launched with full Adobe Flash support, which meant PlayBook users were able to stream movies and television shows from the online content provider, until Hulu decided to block access earlier this week. “We are in conversations with Hulu to bring Hulu Plus subscription service to BlackBerry PlayBook users,” a spokeswoman for RIM told The Wall STreet Journal. Hulu Plus costs $7.99 per month, however, so it appears that Hulu’s free offering will continue to be blocked for the foreseeable future.

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Google still reigns supreme in the U.S. online video market, according to new data released Thursday by comScore. There were more than 5.0 billion U.S. internet video viewing sessions during the month of February, and 1.8 billion of them were on Google sites — which includes YouTube. Google was followed by Microsoft’s sites (48.8 million unique viewers and a total of 297 million viewing sessions), Yahoo! Sites (46.7 unique viewers and a total of 200 million total viewing sessions), Facebook.com (46.6 millon unique, 170 million total), and the music video site VEVO (45.9 million unique, 222 million total). Across the entire internet, viewers watched an average of 816 minutes of video each, 261 minutes of which were on Google’s sites. comScore also said that video ads reached 42% of Americans with U.S. citizens watching a total of 3.8 billion video ads in February. Hulu served the most impressions reaching 7.8% of the total U.S. population with 1.1 billion ads viewed.

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]]> http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/17/google-still-top-dog-in-u-s-online-video-market/feed/ 4 http://www-bgr-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/500x_hulu_vs_netflix110317211733-80x80.jpg http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/08/facebook-streaming-movie-trial-sets-sights-on-netflix/ http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/08/facebook-streaming-movie-trial-sets-sights-on-netflix/#comments Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:11:20 +0000 Zach Epstein http://www.bgr.com/?p=79261

The Warner Bros. blockbuster The Dark Knight has become the first title to be made available for rental on Facebook, giving us our first glimpse of what ultimately could be a truly disruptive home entertainment product. Executives at Netflix, Hulu, Redbox and other similar services were no doubt squirming in their seats on Tuesday morning following the announcement that users can now use Facebook credits to rent The Dark Knight for $3. One rented, the movie can be streamed directly from the movie’s Facebook fan page for 48 hours. “Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people,” said Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, in a statement. “Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world’s largest social network.” Warner Bros. said it also plans to make digital movies available for purchase via Facebook. Hit the break for Warner Bros.’ full press release.

WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT BECOMES FIRST HOLLYWOOD STUDIO TO OFFER MOVIES DIRECTLY ON FACEBOOK

MILLIONS OF WARNER BROS. FACEBOOK FANS CAN NOW RENT MOVIES USING FACEBOOK CREDITS AND STREAM WITHIN STUDIO’S MOVIE FAN PAGES

PROGRAM WILL EXPAND TO DIGITAL MOVIE PURCHASES IN THE NEAR FUTURE

Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD), a market leader in video-on-demand and electronic sell-through, today announced it will begin testing an offering of selected movies for purchase or rental through Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Facebook movie Pages. Consumers will be able to use Facebook Credits to easily buy or rent a title, all while staying connected to Facebook.

Starting today, millions of fans who “Liked” Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film “The Dark Knight” can rent the title through its official Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/darkknight). Consumers simply click on the “rent” icon to apply their Facebook Credits, and within seconds they will begin enjoying the film. The cost per rental is 30 Facebook Credits or $3. This offering is presently available only to consumers in the United States. Additional titles will be made available for rental and purchase on a regular basis over the coming months.

“Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people,” said Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world’s largest social network.”

Fans will have full control over the film while watching it through their Facebook account for up to 48 hours from purchase. They can choose to watch it in full screen, pause the movie, and resume playing it when they log back into Facebook. Consumers will also have full Facebook functionality including the ability to post comments on the movie, interact with friends and update their status.

“The Dark Knight”
The follow-up to “Batman Begins,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of “Batman/Bruce Wayne” in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.

The film also stars Michael Caine as “Alfred”; Heath Ledger as “The Joker”; Gary Oldman as “Jim Gordon”; Aaron Eckhart as “Harvey Dent”; Maggie Gyllenhaal as “Rachel Dawes”; and Morgan Freeman as “Lucius Fox.” Nolan directed the film from a screenplay written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The producers are Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan.

Here’s another reason for Samsung Captivate owners to be aggravated after yesterday’s debacle — Android phone owners with Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later now have access to streaming content from Netflix, Hulu, ESPN 3, Fox, Comedy Central, Spike, CNN, PBS and more thanks to the arrival of PlayOn for Android. PlayOn, MediaMall Technologies’ premier product, allows Windows PC users to stream popular video content from their home computers to a TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android device. Setup is incredibly simple and content can be streamed to Android devices over Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G. MediaMall offers a free two-week trial of PlayOn to new users and then charges $39.99 for the first year of service and $19.99 for each following year. Alternatively, a $79.99 lifetime subscription is available as well. The PlayOn app for Android is available immediately in the Android Market. Hit the jump for MediaMall Technologies’ full press release along with a video explaining how it all works.

Android Gets PlayOn Support and More Video Content Streaming Than Ever Before

Now Watch Hulu, Netflix, TBS, Oprah, Nickelodeon, ESPN3 and Many Others on your Android Device

Seattle – February 17, 2011 - After months of Beta testing, MediaMall Technologies, Inc. today announced that it has officially launched support for Android devices. The free software update and free PlayOn™ Mobile app for Android 2.2 and higher are now available to PlayOn Premium customers, enabling users to stream online video and personal media with Adobe Flash technology from a networked PC to Android mobile devices over 3G or Wi-Fi. PlayOn’s media library contains video content from providers including Hulu (ABC, NBC, Fox, etc.), Amazon VOD, Netflix IQ, TBS, CBS, PBS, the Oprah Winfrey Network, CNN, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Nickelodeon, ESPN3, NFL Rewind, MLB, MTV, VH1, Syfy, Spike, TV.com, The Ultimate Fighter and others.

“We’re pleased to add Android to our ever-growing list of compatible devices for streaming online video content,” states Jeff Lawrence, CEO of MediaMall Technologies. “Our goal is to make it easy for everyone to affordably access online video content using the screen of their choice. With support for Xbox 360, PlayStation3, Wii, Google TV, Roku, iOS, and now Android, among a multitude of other DLNA-compliant devices, PlayOn offers the most affordable one-stop solution for accessing online video content on your living room TV and mobile device.”

Existing PlayOn Premium customers may download the PlayOn Mobile app for free from the Android Marketplace. Those new to PlayOn can try it out free for 14 days, after which PlayOn and its full library of content, including updates for new channels and supported devices, can be purchased for $39.99 for the first year and $19.99 for each year thereafter.

PlayOn Premium customers with Android 2.2+ need just to download the PlayOn Mobile app from the Android Marketplace and initially pair the device over the local Wi-Fi network with the PlayOn media server. The device may then be used to stream online video and personal media content over 3G or Wi-Fi anywhere in the world where you can get a signal. In addition to Android, PlayOn also currently features mobile support for iOS devices including the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

For a full list of content providers and supported hardware platforms, and to try PlayOn for free, please visit: http://www.PlayOn.tv.

Roku has just announced a firmware update — version 2.9 b1509 — for its popular line of streaming media players. The new code packs various bug fixes, playback optimizations, and, most notably, 1080p video playback for the Roku XR player. If your device hasn’t yet automatically retrieved the update, you can manually grab the firmware by navigating to: Settings > Player Info > Check For Updates.

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