Hulu may add CBS, Time Warner with paid service
updated 03:30 pm EDT, Wed June 23, 2010
Hulu could have four studios in subscription TV
Hulu is in talks with CBS and Time Warner to add their TV shows in time for the paid subscription service, a leak from within the negotiations may have given away today. While terms of the deal haven't been outlined in full, CBS would start supplying shows for the paid service by September, as the new TV season starts. Time Warner's staging wasn't outlined by the Bloomberg source.
None of the involved companies were willing to comment.
A deal would give Hulu all four major studios for the first time since it was formed. Although envisioned as a network-independent way to stream video online, only Fox and NBC signed on at the start. ABC and its parent studio Disney came later, and CBS has routinely held out, instead preferring to host video on its own site.
The rumored subscription service is a potential means of luring in CBS as it would provide a more profitable option for moving video beyond its own site. It would also give the company a ready-made solution to pushing its video into non-computer hardware, as Hulu's service may be available on the iPad and Xbox 360.
