Hulu, the online video service from NBC Universal, News Corp. and Disney, was one of the biggest success stories of 2009. This site, on which media concerns show their own TV programmes and movies for free, claims to have doubled the number of users from 22 million in November 2008 to almost 44 million in December 2009. The number of videos sent increased more than 300% to 924 million. Hulu did not publish the hit rates for individual shows, but rather a list of the most popular shows in 2009. The most frequently viewed shows were Saturday Night Live, Family Guy and The Office.

This proves the new presence of Disney in May last year turned out to be the right move [you can read more about Disney’s entrance here]. Hulu is considered to be the answer for the television industry on YouTube, has a modern set-up and is loved by the advertising industry owing to its premium content. A site on which all popular films can be seen is much more attractive for users than individual websites. With a monthly average of 93 million users (+95%), this site is reaching way more people than the older abc.com and, in particular, considerably younger target groups. The outlook for a successful 2010 is excellent!