Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins rings out 2013 in celebratory fashion in a post on the Hulu blog. As Hopkins writes, 2013 “has been a big year at Hulu.”
To begin with, the studio and broadcast industry-backed answer to Netflix will rack up $1 billion in revenue this year, Hopkins highlights, up from $695 million in 2012, and zero just six years ago. Hulu launched in 2008.
New subscribers to Hulu Plus have been helping drive the company’s revenues higher. Hulu Plus’s subscriber base reached 5 million earlier this year, up from 3+ million in 2012. And they’re not only watching Hulu content on their TV sets.
“Roughly 50% of those subscribers are now streaming exclusively on devices, with living room viewing accounting for over half of all content consumption on the service,” Hopkins points out. “Hulu Plus is now accessible on more than 400 million Internet connected devices in the U.S., including the all-new Xbox One, PlayStation®4, Chromecast, Nintendo 3DS and Windows Phone 8. We also provided a refreshed and redesigned Hulu Plus experience on Apple TV, iPad, and millions of Samsung, Roku, and Wii devices.”
Continually adding content has been another growth driver, Hopkins notes. A big development this year was adding over 2,000 new episodes and 144 titles via a deal with BBC Worldwide North America. In all, more than 488 content partners are now contributing premium programming to Hulu and Hulu Plus. That includes over 86,000 TV episodes, 2,900 TV series, and 68,000 hours of video.
Like Netflix, Hulu also began producing its own content. More than 20 Hulu Originals were launched in 2013. The company plans to double that over the next few years, Hopkins writes.
Advertising is the other big part of Hulu’s revenue stream. The industry-backed OTT provider’s roster of advertisers grew to more than 1,000 brands in 2013, 15% higher than that in 2012.
Record streaming on the part of subscribers added to Hulu’s advertising value. Hulu viewers streamed more than 1 billion content videos every quarter, watching continuously for an average of 50 minutes per viewing session in 4Q.
In addition, “Hulu remained #1 in engagement among top ad supported online video sites, and #1 in market share of all premium online video providers” throughout 2013, Hopkins highlights.
Overseas expansion is also progressing. Hulu Japan’s subscriber base is on track to more than double by year-end, while more than 50 content partners are now offering subscribers more than “12,000 assets of TV dramas and movies, and Hulu is available on more than 90 million devices (PCs not included).
Finally, Hulu’s also been hiring. The company added over 260 new employees during 2013 – a 20% rise – bringing its total workforce to 725.
