The long-rumored premium Hulu subscription service ‘Hulu Plus’ could make its debut in the next two weeks. Surprisingly, it could be coming to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 games console first, with an announcement rumored to be coming at E3 2010.
Hulu Premium
It was a full year ago when talk first began of a subscription-based Hulu. The announcement and subsequent release of the Apple iPad tablet brought new rumors.
The latest, emerging in April, being that the service is called ‘Hulu Plus’, costs $9.95-per-month, and is coming to iPad and smartphones via dedicated apps.
But what would Hulu Plus buy you exactly? The most recent five episodes limit would be lifted so that full seasons of popular shows could potentially become available. And adverts could, but not necessarily, disappear. Is that worth $9.95? I’m not convinced.
Hulu On Xbox 360?
E3 2010 is this year’s holding of the annual conference when games developers, publishers, and console manufacturers show off their latest wares. And while Microsoft is expected to show off Project Natal, there are rumors that Hulu could also play a part in its media briefing kicking off at 10am PDT on June 14.
Gear Live reports a very reliable source as informing them that Hulu will be unveiled as a new feature of Xbox Live (the online service) at E3.
This wouldn’t be a massive shock as the Xbox 360 already has Netflix ‘Watch Instantly’ fully integrated. However, it would be a surprise move as it would be the first time Hulu was available to watch on TVs rather than computers.
The further suggestion is that Hulu on Xbox 360 would require some kind of subscription fee. Which strongly indicates this would be the first sighting of ‘Hulu Plus’, the paid-for version of the service which we’ve all known has been on the way since last year.
Conclusions
This is merely a rumor at this stage, and one I can’t fathom actually being true. It would mean the networks behind Hulu doing a complete about-turn on allowing their content to be viewed on TV. They made damn sure Boxee couldn’t deliver the service to viewers in this way.
I would have also bet the farm on ‘Hulu Plus’ coming to the Apple iPad first, not the Xbox 360. I guess we’ll know the truth come June 14.
Related Ad
Ad: Xbox 360 Deals on eBay
[phpbay]Xbox 360, 2, “”, “”[/phpbay]
