TOKYO (AP) — U.S. online streaming site Hulu.com made its
international debut Thursday by launching a subscription video service
in Japan.
The new service gives users unlimited on-demand access
to popular American television shows and movies on computers,
televisions, tablets and mobile devices for 1,480 yen ($19) per month.
It
is offering a one-month free trial in Japan, where those who register
can watch — with or without subtitles — all six seasons of "Lost" or
movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Armageddon."
"Today,
we are taking a first, but important step to make good on our aspiration
to serve customers all over the world," Senior Vice President for
International Johannes Larcher said in a statement.
For the
launch, Hulu signed licensing deals with major studios and TV networks
including CBS, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox. It
plans to later add content produced in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.
It also entered an exclusive mobile marketing partnership with Japan’s biggest wireless carrier, NTT
DoCoMo.
In
a blog post last month, Hulu said it chose Japan because Japanese
audiences are "passionate about premium video content" and because Japan
is a "major producer of world-class TV and feature films."
The
company added that Japan is a particularly attractive market for
delivering video over the Internet because of its extensive broadband
penetration and the ubiquitous presence of Internet-connected mobile
devices.
Launched in 2008, Hulu is owned by NBCUniversal, News Corp., the Walt Disney Company and Providence
Equity Partners.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.