Nippon TV buying Hulu Japanese operations

Hulu ends its international plans with the sale

Hulu wants to be able to compete with Netflix in the streaming media realm. The problem for Hulu is that it is limited mostly to content made by others while Netflix is doing very well with its own online content. Another challenge for Hulu is that Netflix has very successfully gone international.

Hulu hasn’t been able to make that international outreach. Hulu did have operations in Japan, but word has now surfaced that Hulu is selling. Japanese TV provider Nippon TV is said to be buying Hulu Japan reports Gigaom. The deal was outlined in a blog post by Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins.

Hopkins said, “From the beginning of our conversations, it was clear that Nippon TV understands the value of the first-of-its-kind service the Hulu team has built in Japan—we are very proud to have created a service that the local broadcast leader in Japan sees as a strong asset. I know that Nippon TV will be able to take Hulu in Japan to the next level.”

Hulu Japan was the first international offering that Hulu had and it launched in 2011. In Japan, the service launched as a premium paid service with no free component like you get with Hulu in the US. The sale of Hulu’s Japanese operations ends the international ambition of Hulu.

Hopkins said, “I’m confident that the Hulu business in Japan is in very good hands, and Nippon TV will take the service to new heights, with the added benefit of allowing us to focus on our growing business here in the U.S.”