Hulu Plus sneaks its way onto Apple TV, one week free trial

Seth Weintraub | Jul 31 2012 - 6:17 am PT

[hulu id=w7pqikydrnjifmvyxfuslg width=650 height=350]

We broke the news late last year that Apple was working on a Hulu Plus app for Apple TV. Unfortunately, getting the app to the Apple TV was a political issue, not a technical one.

We’ve gotten word that inside Apple there are Apple TVs running the Hulu Plus app natively. The app is feature complete and ready to roll out to Apple TV users on current builds. In fact, it has been ready for at least a month and development is now on hold.

While there are no technical issues standing in the way of the Hulu Plus release on Apple TV, there appear to be some political ones. At some level at Apple, there appears to be some consideration that the Hulu Plus app could eat into iTunes TV sales on the Apple TV. Where Netflix tends to run older programming, iTunes is the Apple TV’s only outlet for current TV programming….

Today, our Apple TVs are lighting up with some Hulu Plus goodness. If you do not see it, a quick reboot will bring it up. Hulu offers a free one-week trial here. Pictures directly from the screen are below.

Update: Hulu has updated its blog with the news and provided an unnecessary instructional video (Above).

To start watching Hulu Plus shows instantly, find “Hulu Plus” on the Apple TV home screen. If you are a Hulu Plus subscriber, simply enter your username and password to start streaming last night’s episode of Modern Family from the biggest screen in the house.

If you do not have a Hulu Plus account, you can easily sign-up two ways:

1. Go to www.huluplus.com/appletv and register online. Launch Hulu Plus on your Apple TV, log in with your new credentials and start streaming.

2. Create a Hulu Plus account directly through Apple TV by using your existing iTunes account and following the sign up instructions on the screen. If you sign up for Hulu Plus through Apple TV, you will be emailed instructions on how to complete your registration so you can use Hulu Plus on all other supported devices. After your free 1-week trial ends, your iTunes Account will be charged $7.99 per month as a recurring transaction.

For those of you who are new to the service, Hulu Plus is the only online premium video subscription that streams current and classic TV programming on demand from hundreds of content partners, including top broadcast networks ABC, NBC, FOX, The CW and Univision. Hulu Plus subscribers can watch on any enabled devices for $7.99/month with limited advertising. For many popular shows on our service, Hulu Plus offers every episode of the current season. Hulu Plus subscribers also have access to back seasons and full runs of some of TV’s greatest shows, including many that were not available online before, in HD whenever possible.

Happy watching!