The downsides of depending entirely on networks and studios have
become increasingly clear. One is the soaring cost. Most of the
$500 million that Hulu recently said it plans to spend on content
this year is expected to go toward rights for series that first
aired on traditional TV. Another is networks' and studios' interest
in protecting the status quo. Starz reportedly declined to renew
its distribution deal with Netflix even at $300 million per year
because Netflix refused to put the network's content on a premium tier costing subscribers
extra. And Warner Bros. just got Netflix to accept a much longer delay before getting
its movies.
Hulu has ordered 13 half-hour episodes of "Battleground" -- 22
minutes each -- to run on Tuesdays beginning Feb. 14. The show is
being dubbed a "faux-documentary" about working on the campaign of
a "distant third-place" candidate for the U.S. Senate.
According to Hulu Senior VP-Content Andy Forssell, the idea for
the show came from actor J.D. Walsh, one of the show's three
executive producers, who himself worked on a John Kerry campaign.
Marc Webb, the director of "500 Days of Summer" and the forthcoming
"The Amazing Spider-Man," is also an executive producer.
Additionally, Hulu picked up a documentary series called "Up to
Speed," with six episodes to begin airing this summer. Filmmaker
Richard Linklater, of "Dazed and Confused" fame, will direct the
series, which will be hosted by Timothy "Speed" Levitch.
And Morgan Spurlock's "A Day in the Life," Hulu's first original series, is coming back for a second
season with 10 new episodes, featuring personalities such as Joel
McHale, host of E!'s "The Soup," and UFC fighter Jason Miller. Mr.
Forssell said the show's first season was profitable, but declined
to provide further metrics on its performance.
Hulu wants to act as a partner with the creators of its original
series, said Mr. Forssell. "The creators and Hulu are sharing in
almost any revenue stream that comes out of it," he said, declining
to discuss specifics of the financial arrangements.
"The general pattern is that we want to be joined at the hip
with the creators and have a sense of joint ownership," he said.
"But in the end, they will retain primary ownership long-term.
That's good for the marketplace and the right kind of
relationship."
Hulu is likely to acquire more original programming, but will
remain predominantly an outlet for distributing network and studio
fare. "I think the mix will work out over time, but it'll remain
balanced in the sense that studio and network stuff will always
remain the majority of what we do," Mr. Forssell said.
All three of Hulu's original series will be available to both
regular non-paying Hulu users as well as paying Hulu Plus
subscribers. But Mr. Forssell acknowledged that some original
content in the future could be walled off behind the Hulu Plus
paywall.
"Initially, we want to get in front of a broad audience and make
it easy for them to share," he said. "Where that goes three or four
years from now, I don't know."
Hulu Plus now has 1.5 million subscribers, CEO Jason Kilar
wrote on Hulu's blog last Thursday. Hulu finished 2011
with $420 million in revenue, Mr. Kilar wrote, up 60% from 2010 but
still shy of the half-billion dollars he'd earlier suggested it
would approach last year.
Hulu was expected to present its new original programming lineup
Sunday at the Television Critics' Association Winter Press
Tour.
