By Meredith Blake
NEW YORK โ At its upfront presentation Wednesday in New York City, the online streaming service Hulu touted its aggressive expansion into original programming and its continued acquisition of top-rated network and cable series.
These expansions come as the subscription-based Hulu Plus reached 6 million subscribers, up from 5 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.
After introductory remarks from โSaturday Night Liveโ star Cecily Strong, who joked that Hulu finally made it possible to โwatch TV the way it was meant to be watched โ at work,โ CEO Mike Hopkins announced plans to quadruple Huluโs investment in original programming over the coming year.
The service will expand its slate of originals with โThe Hotwives Orlando,โ a โReal Housewivesโ parody starring Casey Wilson and Angela Kinsey premiering in July, and โThe Next Step,โ a reality-style drama about a group of dancers at an elite studio premiering in May.
In addition, all five of the original series launched in 2013, โMoone Boy,โ โEast Los High,โ โQuick Drawโ and โThe Awesomes,โ will be returning, as will the supernatural comedy โDeadbeat,โ which debuted on the service in April.
Hulu, which streams seven of the top 10 series in prime time, has also beefed up its library of acquired content, scooping up exclusive rights to a library of comedy and reality titles from NBCUniversal, including โThe Mindy Project,โ โBrooklyn Nine-Nineโ and โThe Real Housewivesโ franchise, in April.
The service also struck a deal in February for exclusive subscription video on demand rights to some 5,300 episodes from the CBS library, including current series โBlue Bloodsโ and โElementaryโ as well as old favorites โEverybody Loves Raymondโ and โSurvivor.โ
Before the audience of advertisers and media buyers, senior vice president of sales Peter Naylor also plugged the serviceโs appeal with younger viewers. Some 82 percent of Hulu users are in the advertiser-coveted 18 to 49 demographic, compared to just 32 percent for traditional network TV.
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