Back in October, we reported that gaming giant Nintendo was teaming up with Hulu to deliver Hulu Plus TV shows and movies to the Wii and the 3DS by the end of the year. Well, it has taken a little longer than planned, but the service has now gone live for the Wii, with the 3DS arriving later this year.
Founded in 2007, Hulu is an online TV service that helps users discover premium content from around the world, and its ownership is shared between Hulu, NBCUniversal, NewsCorporation, The Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners.
From today, Wii owners will be able sign up to Hulu Plus, its subscription service that was launched back in 2010, for $7.99 a month and stream the current seasons of shows such as Family Guy, Glee, New Girl, Vampire Diaries, The Office, The Biggest Loser and Modern Family, as well as full back seasons of other programmes.
“Wii offers the most entertainment fun for everyone in the family, with an impressive selection of streaming movies and TV shows in addition to an unparalleled lineup of games that can’t be played anywhere else,” said Tony Elison, Nintendo of America’s senior director and general manager of Network Business. “The Wii console is the hub of the living room, and with the addition of Hulu Plus, millions of households now have even more options for streaming premium TV shows and movies.”
Netflix launched on the Wii back in 2010, so having one of its big rivals launch beside it will help stiffen competition. In 2011, Hulu notched up more than $400m in revenue, and surpassed 1.5m subscribers, and rolling out its Wii app will help it reach a much broader audience and reach “every screen”.
“We want to be everywhere, on every screen where people want to watch their favorite shows and discover new ones on their own schedule,” said Pete Distad, VP of Marketing and Distribution at Hulu. “Wii is not only one of the most important entertainment devices in the living room, but one of the most heavily anticipated and requested platforms by users and subscribers. Teaming up with Nintendo gives millions of households across the U.S. an immediate way to access some of their favorite current season shows on-demand in their living room through Hulu Plus.”
Users who have a broadband Internet connection can visit the Wii Shop Channel through their console, and download the Hulu Plus application for free. For the first month of launch, users who download Hulu Plus for Wii will get a two-week free trial to the service if they don’t already have an account.
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