Rumor Mill: Hulu Is Coming to the PlayStation 3

A new report is suggesting that the creators of Hulu and hardware maker Sony are ready to announce a deal bringing the popular television show streaming service to the PlayStation 3 home console. Sources close to the talks related to the deal are saying that Hulu on the PS3 will be a paid service and that an official announcement could be coming this week.

Hulu is a joint deal between News Corp., Disney and NBC Universal, which is designed to harness the power of the Internet in order to increase the viewership numbers for television shows from the networks. The service is free to use now on the PC for those who are in North America and offers an alternative to watching the TV for those who simply cannot get to see their favorite shows. The three partners have been recently talking about turning Hulu into a paid service, with a 10 dollars monthly charge needed in order to see all the content and some of the newer programs, which do not have an established audience, being free for a while.

Previous reports also suggested that Hulu would be coming to the Microsoft’s Xbox 360 home console, but nothing official has been announced until now. Both home consoles allow users to use another popular movie service, Netflix, at the moment and Hulu will probably end up working on both once negotiations are concluded.

In order to attract buyers beyond the usual gaming crowd both Microsoft and Sony have taken initiatives to portray the Xbox 360 and the PS3 as entertainment centers that can offer social experiences and can deliver video content to those who are not too interested in videogames. These strategies with the purpose of focusing on a wider target audience can also be seen in the launch of Kinect and PlayStation Move, motion tracking peripherals that will challenge the domination of the Nintendo Wii in the field.