Netflix may be struggling with angry subscribers and content issues, but Hulu sure isn’t hurting. The company saw 60% growth last year, an increase in subscribers that has been bolstered both by the service offering a larger selection that ever before as well as an increase in the number of people looking to streaming services for their television needs.
CEO Jason Kilar was proud to announce on the Hulu blog yesterday that the company is growing by leaps and bounds. HuluPlus, the company’s pay subscription service, is now boasting 1.5 million subscribers and has seen its content double over the past year. The company has posted $420 million in revenue. Not too bad for a company that was in talks to sell last year.
Hulu provides something that Netflix doesn’t – current TV series from 5 out of 6 of the biggest networks, most available to pay subscribers shortly after they air. Users who choose not to upgrade to Plus still have to wait up to eight days to see recent episodes. Their most recent coup was the addition of the CW. They have also expanded to offer Hulu apps on a wide variety of devices including the Xbox 360 and the new Kindle Fire from Amazon, allowing users to watch on their television at home or on the go.
Hulu expects the growth to continue; they are adding subscribers each day at twice the levels they were seeing last year. Whether or not Hulu can be seen as a real competitor for Netflix is open to debate, but the company is definitely on the rise.
