Hulu to reach $1 billion in revenue in 2013

Internet television service Hulu will bring in $1 billion in revenue this year, as it added subscribers and expanded its advertising base.

Hulu did not disclose whether the service is profitable.

The streaming service said its 2013 revenue will be up from $695 million in 2012. The number of its subscribers has reached 5 million, with about half of those who pay $8 a month for Hulu Plus watching shows exclusively on their portable devices.

Hulu Plus is available on more than 400 million Internet-connected devices in the U.S., including next-generation video game consoles, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and dedicated streaming set-top boxes from Roku and Apple TV.

The six-year-old venture -- owned by Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox and NBCUniversal parent Comcast Corp. -- has emerged from a period of uncertainty that saw a change in management and plans for a sale withdrawn.

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Under its new chief executive, Mike Hopkins, Hulu is pursuing partnerships with cable and satellite distributors.

Hopkins, in a blog post, said Hulu added content on its free, ad-supported Hulu site and Hulu Plus. It now boasts more than 86,000 television episodes, including current season shows from five of the six largest broadcasters.

Its content deal with BBC Worldwide North America brought such internationally acclaimed shows as “Doctor Who,” “Top Gear” and “Sherlock” to the service.

Hulu also launched 20 original programs, including “The Awesomes,” “Behind the Mask” and “The Wrong Mans” -- which Hopkins said were among the top 10 most-watched shows on Hulu when new episodes became available. The service, which is competing for viewers with streaming rivals Netflix and Amazon, said it plans to double the number of original programs “over the next few years.”

The number of advertisers expanded to more than 1,000 brands -- up 15% over 2012. Viewers streamed more than 1 billion videos in each quarter, and remained with the service for about 50 minutes a session in the fourth quarter.

Hulu Japan is on track to more than double the number of its subscribers from the start of the year.

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