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Hulu hits 9 million subscribers as TV and mobile viewing takes off

Hulu hits 9 million subscribers as TV and mobile viewing takes off

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Hulu's efforts to expand its roster of original and exclusive shows appears to be paying off. At a presentation in New York this morning, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins announced that the company now has 9 million subscribers, a growth of 50 percent over this time last year. That's a great bump for Hulu, though it's worth remembering that it's still far behind Netflix, which has around 50 million more subscribers. Hopkins is bullish that Hulu's figures are going to keep rising — and quickly. "If you take only one thing away this morning, know that 2015 is the year Hulu will break out," he says.

Hopkins says that in addition to content investments, Hulu is putting money into technology "to build a better, simpler, and more personalized experience." He doesn't say exactly what that means for browsing Hulu in the future, but there's a good chance that Hulu will be focusing more on apps and TV interfaces than its website. It turns out, the web isn't that big for Hulu's subscribers. "More than 60 percent of Hulu subscribers no longer watch Hulu on their computer," Hopkins said. Instead, they're watching on phones, tablets, and TV. Its subscribers are watching more content, too — up 30 percent year over year.