Hulu Will Create an Application for Apple’s iPad

Hulu, the free online video website, has plans to create an application for Apple’s iPad. While Hulu has been successful in bringing online TV to a mainstream audience, there has been increasing pressure from the companies that supply its content. Aiming to earn more in advertising, such companies are in favor of setting up a subscription service where customers would be required to pay a monthly fee to access some of the website’s content.

Hulu has resisted implementing a subscription service in the past, but some say Hulu is now open to the possibility as the industry continues to change.

Some believe a subscription service might be put into practice with the Hulu iPad application. More than ever, consumers want Hulu access from other platforms including mobile devices and HDTVs that connect to the internet, but media companies have been resisting moving Hulu content to other platforms out of concern for low advertising revenue, even as use of the site has grown.

Finding a business model that would allow Hulu to move its content to other platforms and also increase revenue has been a challenge, and because of pressure from content suppliers, consumers might see a Hulu subscription service in the future.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/technology/01hulu.html?ref=technology