NEW YORK -- "Do you really ever watch Hulu?"
That's what one advertiser asked another while waiting in a long line for the streaming service's annual Upfront presentation.
They were among the thousands who dragged themselves to Madison Square Garden on a rainy, early Wednesday morning to check out what Hulu had to offer.
That initial interest was all Hulu needed to wow the crowd. (OK -- having Broad City ladies Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson as MCs helped, too).
During the roughly 90-minute presentation, Hulu highlighted its current offerings, unveiled new original programming, announced a partnership with LiveNation for virtual reality concert programming, and perhaps most notably, confirmed a live TV offering is coming in early 2017.
While the Santa Monica-based streaming service has been known to go big for its Upfront presentation, the packed line-up of announcements (chock full of A-list guest speakers) suggested a shift is on the horizon in the streaming service world.
Hulu is already big with consumers. The platform said Wednesday that its subscriber base has grown over 30% year over year, and will reach 12 million subscribers in the U.S. by this month. Still, in a crowded marketplace, Hulu has often been seen as the also option when compared with competitors Netflix, Amazon and HBO.
That perception is about to change, because Hulu has now officially positioned itself as the future of online TV.
Here's a look at how.
Welcome to Hulu's House
Throughout the presentation, Hulu executives emphasized the idea of TV as a verb.
"Hulu is inviting audiences to 'come TV' with us," CEO Mike Hopkins told the crowd. "We invite you, our ad partners, to come TV with us as well."
"[TV] is so much more than a collection of shows or a box on a wall," Jenny Wall, Hulu's head of marketing, echoed. "It’s an experience."
And Hulu has been working on creating that personalized "experience" for consumers over the last two years.
First, it launched a slate of successful comedies including The Mindy Project, Difficult People and the Golden Globe-nominated sitcom Casual.
Then it focused on growing its library of movies.
Now it's establishing itself as a destination for critically acclaimed dramas. Under Beatrice Springborn, head of original content, the company released 11.22.63 (produced by J.J. Abrams and starring James Franco) and The Path (starring Aaron Paul, Hugh Dancy and Michelle Monaghan).
Coming later this year: Hugh Laurie-starring drama Chance, psychic crime drama Shut Eye, and a Beatles documentary from Ron Howard.
"As a brand, we try to be really reflective of popular culture," Craig Erwich, head of content at Hulu, told Mashable in an interview. "We are definitely a service that embraces TV. We love popular culture and we celebrate it."
All this content is also attractive to advertisers. As Hopkins noted, nearly 60% of all Americans stream content on an SVOD service, but Hulu is only one that has an ad-supported option.
Not unlike TV, Hulu is also OK with integrating brands into its original shows.
The platform pointed to its brand partnerships with Goose Island Beer Company and Lexus, which have been integrated into Casual and The Mindy Project, respectively.
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The Skinny Bundle
While much of the presentation highlighted Hulu's content, the most critical news about the service was barely touched upon.
Hopkins confirmed reports that a live TV service is coming, which means Hulu is entering "skinny bundle" territory.
“We’re going to fuse the best of linear television and on demand in a deeply personalized experience,” he said, without elaborating further.
Skinny bundles give users live or on-demand access to multiple channels at once, often at a less expensive rate than cable. Dish was the first to try such a package with Sling TV . Then came Comcast, Sony and Verizon. YouTube reportedly has a similar offering in the works.
But Hulu has an advantage as it is already owned by major TV networks 21st Century Fox, Walt Disney Co. and NBCUniversal.
And companies have been receptive so far: Erwich told Mashable that they've expressed interest in this live TV service.
"I think anytime you have a great product, people are receptive to it," he said. "There’s clearly a desire for people to have amore personal and intimate relationship with the television beyond just going to a programming grid. There’s a lot of choice and I think people need help navigating it. But they also know what they like, too. So Hulu is hoping to kind of be a guide, a helper and an organizer."
Some analysts believe the new offering will work in Hulu's favor.
“The biggest outcome of this announcement will be increased consumer education, meaning more everyday TV-watchers will begin to understand there are alternatives to traditional cable services," Forrester analyst Jim Nail said in a statement.
"This is a big change for consumers -- at least those older than 30 or 35 -- and it will take time and education for them to break the mold of relying on one television-provider option. So far, similar skinny bundles haven’t had nearly as much of an impact as the ‘cord-cutting’ hype would lead you to expect.
"However, the more companies out there touting this kind of alternative, the more likely consumers will begin to shift the way they think about their TV service and, eventually, make the move.”
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Topics Hulu
