Hulu Sells Off Japanese Business

LOS ANGELES/TOKYO: After less than three years in the Japanese market, Hulu is selling its business to Nippon Television Network Corporation.

Hulu launched in Japan in September 2011. Now, Nippon TV is taking over the operations, in a transaction expected to close in early spring. The move marks Nippon TV's entry into the SVOD business.

As part of the acquisition, the parties will be entering into a separate agreement in which Hulu will license its brand and technology to a subsidiary of Nippon TV, as well as provide support services that will enable Nippon TV to continue to make the SVOD service available under the Hulu brand using the same platform. Nippon TV’s popular shows and original exclusive content will launch on the Hulu service in Japan.

“In addition to terrestrial broadcasting and BS/CS broadcasting, Nippon TV is looking forward to succeeding Hulu’s business as a new path to deliver content through the Internet,” said Yoshio Okubo, the president of Nippon TV. “Hulu’s sophisticated brand, wide content lineup, and its outstanding technology are very attractive. We feel a big potential in the brand and service Hulu has created.”

“Hulu launched in Japan less than three years ago, a first-of-its-kind subscription video on demand service in the market which has grown to 50 content partners, offering users more than 13,000 assets of TV dramas and movies across 90 million devices,” added Mike Hopkins, the CEO of Hulu. “We are very proud to have created a service that Nippon TV, the broadcast leader in Japan, sees as a strong asset.”