Hulu - Availability

Availability

Currently, Hulu's content is only available in the United States and Japan with licensing reasons cited. However, many Internet users are able to get around Hulu's geo-location block using proxy services. Hulu was planning on launching in the UK and Ireland in September 2009, but as of April 2010 these had been abandoned for the foreseeable future after failure to sign any content deals. In July 2010, the Financial Times revealed that Hulu had been working on plans for an international launch of Hulu Plus for several months, and had identified the UK and Japan as markets where its free website and subscription model could feasibly work. Hulu chief executive Jason Kilar expressed his belief that the US model could be replicated elsewhere, saying "We won't be satisfied until this is a global service." Hulu's first expansion into an international market took place with the launching of service in Japan on September 1, 2011. Japanese users have access to a library of popular television shows such as the CSI franchise, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and Prison Break, as well as movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Men in Black and Armageddon. In the near future, it will also add local content from Japan as well as entertainment from other Asian regions.

As of February 2009, Hulu has pulled its content from CBS Corp.'s TV.com, and from Boxee, a software firm that makes Internet video suitable for viewing on a large screen, like a television connected to a PC.