Hulu looks set to make $500 million in revenue this year, according to its CEO Jason Kilar. However, while the short-term future of the company looks bright, things may get trickier in the longterm.
Hulu Success
Since launching in late 2007, Hulu has grown considerably in terms of content, user numbers, advertisers, and stature. Most people, at least in the U.S. will now be aware of Hulu at the very least, even if they rarely or ever use the service.
There does seem to be trouble brewing, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that NBC, News Corp., and Disney are effectively re-evaluating their positions within Hulu as they fear the company is drawing viewers away from their own separate sites and therefore affecting business.
However, to listen to Hulu CEO Jason Kilar you’d get the impression that everything is right with the world.
A Strong Future?
Kilar recently gave a keynote speech at the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) Annual Leadership Meeting in California. According to AdWeek, it was during this keynote that he predicted the company would bring in $500 million in revenue in 2011 from a combination of advertising spend and paid subscriptions for Hulu Plus.
He also boasted that the company now has 627 advertisers and 250 content partners on board. This is in stark contrast to the two content partners and around a dozen advertisers Hulu started out with.
If Kilar’s revenue prediction for the year proves to be correct then Hulu will have doubled its revenue from 2010. Over the course of its life the company’s revenue have jumped year on year, quadrupling from $25 million in 2008 to $108 million in 2009, and then more than doubling to $263 million in 2010.
Conclusions
Kilar appears to be confident, indeed overtly positive, about Hulu’s future. at least in public. But with the company being so reliant on its content partners to have anything its users, many of whom now pay for the privilege, the longterm looks a little rocky for Hulu.
