OK, this Internet TV thing is just getting kinda nuts right now. A few months ago, the best thing you could hope for was a $600 Mac Mini with a Logitech diNovo Mini keyboard to get Hulu and Netflix and the rest of your movie collection into your living room with any sort of elegance. What a difference a few months makes.
Now with $99 AppleTV arriving in people’s homes and $200+ Boxee Box and GoogleTV coming at some undisclosed point in the future, everyone seems to want to share everything everywhere. And that’s great!
Roku/Hulu announced today that they’d be coming to those cheap little streaming Roku boxes. Incidentally, so did Tivo. So for $10/month plus a $60 down, you can pretty much have basic cable over Internet. Cut the cord! (except that its probably the same coaxial cable that brings your Internet)
I’m really hoping to see Apple to announce a similar Hulu deal for AppleTV. Hulu Plus already exists on iOS devices so there isn’t a technical issue and if it is on Roku, there is no legal issue related to TV streams. Soooo….
Let consumers decide whether they want to pay $1-$3/episode on iTunes or $10 + commercials for on-demand TV. If Netflix can be blessed on AppleTV, then why not Hulu? Oh, and how about some international rollouts Hulu while we’re at it?
Full Press Roku-Hulu release below:
Roku Announces Content Partnership with Hulu
Hulu Plus Coming this Fall on All Roku Streaming Players
Saratoga, Calif. (September 28, 2010) Roku, Inc., maker of the best-selling and award-winning Roku streaming player, and Hulu™, the leading online TV service, today announced a partnership to offer the Hulu Plus™ service on all Roku players. The Hulu Plus channel will be available via subscription to all Roku customers later this fall.
Hulu Plus offers one of the deepest offerings of TV shows, both current and classic, on a streaming platform to subscribers in the U.S. Through Hulu Plus on Roku, TV lovers can watch every episode of more than 45 current hit programs from ABC, FOX and NBC like Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee, Family Guy, The Office and 30 Rock. In addition, TV lovers will be able to enjoy full series runs and numerous back seasons of dozens of classic shows like The X-Files, Law and Order: SVU, Arrested Development, Saturday Night Live, Miami Vice, Ugly Betty, Quantum Leap, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Roswell and Ally McBeal. The Hulu Plus channel will be available via subscription to all Roku customers later this fall.
“We are excited to bring Hulu Plus to all Roku users,” said Pete Distad, VP of Content Distribution for Hulu. “With Hulu Plus on Roku, TV fans will have an easy way to stream to their TVs the shows they love, whenever they want.”
Roku pioneered the streaming player category in 2008, and recently launched its new line of HD streaming players starting at $59.99, featuring the largest collection of streaming entertainment available for the TV, and the lowest prices in the industry.
“We’re thrilled to be able to provide Hulu Plus subscribers with the most inexpensive device to stream Hulu content to their TVs,” said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, Inc. “Hulu continues to be an amazing innovator in online entertainment, and Roku is an ideal platform to bring their content back to the living room and high definition televisions where it is best viewed.”
The Roku HD streaming player ($59.99) delivers video in high-definition and features built-in wireless and Ethernet for easy broadband connectivity anywhere in the home. The new Roku XD ($79.99) and XDS ($99.99) models add 1080p HD support (delivered over HDMI) and extended-range Wireless-N. In addition, the XDS model features dual-band Wireless-N technology and USB playback.
In partnering with Roku, Hulu joins major entertainment partners including Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), Amazon Video On Demand (NASDAQ: AMZN), Pandora, MLB.TV, and Ultimate Fighting Championship®.
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