CBS Considering Offering TV Shows Via Hulu

by Jennifer Johnson — Tuesday, August 03, 2010, 04:32 PM EDT

In a recent interview, CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves said CBS is in talks to bring some of its TV shows to Hulu. According to Moonves, the talks are focused on Hulu Plus, a paid subscription service that launched in June and costs $9.

CBS is the only major broadcaster who doesn't currently offer shows through Hulu. Initially, CBS stayed away from Hulu in an effort to ensure flexibility. With the introduction of a subscription option, CBS is now interested in exploring its options with Hulu.

"Are we having discussions with the Hulu subscription service? Yes we are," Moonves said. "Our goal is to get paid for our content in as many different ways as we can without hurting the mother ship. The key here is flexibility."

For a while now, CBS executives have said that one of the main issues with Hulu was control and exclusivity. The No. 1 U.S. broadcaster has preferred a wide range of partners across the Web and therefore did not want to feature its programs exclusively on Hulu.

Data from analytics firm comScore notes that Hulu has become one of the fastest growing TV sites since it was launched in 2007. In May, Hulu had around 43.5 million viewers.

Tags: Hulu, Television, CBS, hulu plus, broadcast

Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.

Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.

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