Hulu is adding paying subscribers faster than they had anticipated.
According to the Associated Press, Hulu’s chief executive said in a blog post Wednesday that they will have one million paying customers by the end of summer. It looks like people are willing to pay for content after all.
The growing popularity of the subscription plan might make industry interest in Hulu grow. Its owners are made up of some of biggest media outlets in the world like The Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and Comcast Corp. They’ve also put it up for sale recently.
Jason Kilar, Hulu Chief Executive, said that the number of people who paid $8 a month for the Hulu Plus service reached 875,000 in June. Hulu’s paying customers get to access a wide catalog of TV shows and they are able to watch on their mobile devices. Their free service is only available on computers. Both services require the viewer to watch video ads.
Hulu is on track to make almost $500 million in profit in 2011, an increase from $263 million in 2010, Kilar said. He stressed the fact that the company is able to turn a profit.
Hulu started presenting its financial details to interested buyers last month after an unsolicited offer motivated its board to look for additional offers.
Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are among the dozen potential buyers in discussions with Hulu, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked for anonymity because the talks were confidential.
Both companies have refused to comment because they don’t comment on rumors or speculation.
The only sure thing known at this point is that Hulu’s talks with outside parties are more than just exploration.
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger told reporters on Wednesday that Hulu’s possessors are “committed to selling.” He said so at a yearly meeting of top media executives hosted by investment bank Allen & Co. in Sun Valley, Idaho.
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