iPad would get Hulu and Netflix streaming soon

Two of the most important Internet video websites are planning native iPad apps, a pair of leaks showed in the past few hours. One set of tips claims that the Hulu iPad app is real and will carry a subscription that will also cover other services. Core details have reportedly been worked out, with only rights negotiation is left over.

The service wouldn't be available near launch but would be ready within "single digit months," a AllThingsD source said.

Alongside this, the WSJ has added a leak that both ABC and CBS are gearing up for their own content. ABC plans a native iPad app on launch for viewing TV shows in a free, ad-supported format that would include major shows such as Lost. CBS is already known to be making an HTML5-optimized website that would play the videos directly through the browser.

A more in-depth scoop has confirmed that Netflix will have its own native iPad app and would provide the full functionality of the website. In addition to watching streaming movies and TV shows, AppAdvice has learned that viewers would have the options of managing the queue (including DVDs) as well as reading and writing reviews. Videos would play full-screen in the iPad's native video player. It should be ready along with the iPad-optimized App Store and should be free, although it will need a Netflix subscription for the account.

Combined, all of the services potentially give the iPad the largest catalog of potentially produced streaming video and would significantly reduce the incentives to use Flash or Silverlight, either of which is normally necessary for the sites' desktop services. Apple has lately been a strong advocate of HTML5 and other technologies that bypass plugins entirely, and has not only had access to YouTube but also Vimeo and similar alternatives.

By Electronista Staff

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digital imaging, Flash, Hulu, YouTube, ABC, Silverlight, Netflix, CBS, Vimeo, Apple, iPad, iPad apps