Starting in 2013, Hulu Plus subscribers will be able to tap into more than 2,600 shows from CBS' TV library, thanks to a non-exclusive, multi-year content deal between Hulu and CBS Corp. announced this week.
While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, it "marks another agreement that meets the growing demand for our content on new platforms while establishing other incremental ways to get paid for our library," Scott Koondel, senior vice president of corporate leasing for CBS, told the Hollywood Reporter.
CBS also has entered into licensing agreements with Hulu for CBS-produced programming broadcast on The CW and for Hulu subscribers in Japan. The latest agreement will bring such programs as "Medium," "Numb3rs," "CSI:Miami," "Star Trek," "I Love Lucy" and "The Twilight Zone" to Hulu Plus subscribers who may have missed them in first run or in reruns. For those interested in something more up-to-date, clips from "Entertainment Tonight" will be available to Hulu and Hulu Plus on the day they are telecast.
The deal seems to be good news for both companies. CBS gets more eyes for its video library and perhaps "additional revenue going forward," according to a Zacks Investment Research note, and Hulu gets more television fare.
More television programming could help Hulu in its competition with Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) which, according to a Forbes article, "has found that its movie audience has declined over 50 percent since last year." On the other hand, Netflix viewers have moved to television viewing, "likely the result of added TV content like 'Lost' and 'Breaking Bad,'" the story continued.
Now Hulu subscribers will have access to more TV programming, although, the Forbes piece concluded, "[t]he real benefits will be enjoyed by viewers who now have new oldies to discover and previous fans wish to revisit old favorites."
For more:
- the Hollywood Reporter has this story
- Zacks Investment Research has this note
- Forbes has this story
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