Hulu Reaches 1 Billion Monthly Streams

YouTube has proven that people want online video and Hulu is now proving that long-form professional content is attractive to the online audience just as much as it is on TV. The two sites are now the biggest online video outlets in the US, with YouTube enjoying a huge lead, but both still struggle to turn a profit. For Hulu at least the answer is clear, people will have to start paying for some of the content. And judging by its success even if a few are willing, it could still mean a healthy revenue stream.

USA Today got a hold of Hulu CEO Jason Kilar for an interview and he revealed some interesting numbers as well as some future plans. One thing that attests to the site's success is the latest viewership numbers. Hulu says that 1 billion videos were streamed in December, a great milestone. The only other video site that can boast such numbers is YouTube, granted the Google site does 1 billion streams a day. Still, it's four times the number of videos that were watched on the site just a year ago, a testament to the great year Hulu had in 2009.

But the real question for the site isn't if people are going to watch anymore, it's if people are willing to pay. Despite its success, Hulu can't survive on advertising revenue alone and its backers, three of the four major TV networks in the US, have been itching to start making money with their joint-venture.

Kilar says that a free version of the site will always be available, but that premium content or subscriptions are definitely coming and soon, though he didn't give an actual time-frame. What revenue options will be explored is anyone's guess and it's likely Hulu hasn't decided yet. This goes double for the pricing. Paid options aren't coming until the NBC Universal sale from General Electric to cable-operator Comcast is finished and that may still take a while.