Hulu is ready to take its premium subscription service to the next level by opening it up to more people. As of today you no longer need an invitation to subscribe to Hulu Plus; if you’re interested, go ahead and register for the service right now. Is your living room packed with Sony products? If so this next bit of news should crack a smile. Hulu Plus is now available to access on 2010 BRAVIA HDTVs and BRAVIA Internet Video Link via the BRAVIA Internet Video platform. It will “soon” be available on Blu-ray players, Blu-ray Home Theater Systems, Network Media Player, and Sony’s DASH. PS3 owners, listen here: Hulu Plus will open for all of you sometime next week. (Update (11/10): It’s available today.) Since July only those PS3 users who subscribed to PlayStation Plus (a $50/year service) could use Hulu Plus, but now Hulu is removing that road block and allowing all PS3 users with a (free) PSN account to sign up for their service. PS3 will remain the exclusive video games console with Hulu Plus access through the remainder of the year; it’s expected to land on Xbox 360 and Wii sometime in 2011. PR messages from Sony and Hulu sit after the break.
[Via PlayStationBlog; HuluBlog; Engadget]
November 4, 2010 – Hulu Plus, the subscription service on the market to bring current TV programming from top broadcast networks in high-definition (HD), is now available on 2010 BRAVIA® HDTVs and BRAVIA Internet Video Link via the BRAVIA Internet Video platform and will soon be available on Blu-ray™ Disc players, Blu-ray™ Home Theater Systems, Network Media Player and DASH. Next week, Hulu Plus will also be available for all PlayStation®Network members who own a PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system.
Hulu Plus subscription service has been available since July 2010 to select PlayStation®Plus subscribers via PS3, but starting next week, PS3 system owners with a free PlayStation Network account can download and subscribe to the Hulu Plus service, accessing it under the “Video” icon on the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) menu. Hulu Plus is still in preview, and subscriptions are available from Hulu for $9.99 per month.Since we kicked off our preview of Hulu Plus, it’s been our mission to continually add more devices and content to the Hulu Plus service. Over the past few weeks, we’ve added several titles to the Hulu Plus service, including new fall shows like Raising Hope, No Ordinary Family, and The Event, and back seasons of hit shows including Monk, Psych, and Battlestar Galactica. Today, we’re also happy to announce the availability of Hulu Plus on Sony BRAVIA® 2010 TVs, with the service expanding to other BRAVIA devices in the near future.
As we scale our infrastructure throughout the preview period, we want to open the service to a larger subscriber base. To make it easier for people to try out Hulu Plus, you no longer need an invitation to subscribe. In the next week, all PS3 owners with a PlayStation Network account, which is free, will be able to download and subscribe to Hulu Plus. This will also coincide with an updated PS3 application that incorporates some of the feedback we’ve received to date.
As the Hulu Plus preview period continues, we’ll continue to work diligently to expand the service to more devices, add more content and incorporate feedback to improve the service. Happy watching!
Rob Wong ( rob.wong@hulu.com)
Director, Product