http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hulu-upfront-seth-meyers-adrian-grenier-richard-linklater-314182
The video website reports $420 million in revenue last year, but it is spending even more to develop new shows, including series from Adrian Grenier and Michael Wendschuh.
At a presentation to ad buyers Thursday, Hulu touted its growth, saying its more than 2 million paid subscribers have made its $8-per-month video subscription service the fastest growing in U.S. history. The company also reported $420 million in revenue last year and expressed a commitment to original programming with new series including The Awesomes, from Saturday Night Live star Seth Meyers.
Hulu was the first of many online giants scheduled to roll out their content and meet with advertisers in TV industry style upfront presentations during the next two weeks. In a room that included Meyers, Smash star Megan Hilty, Morgan Spurlock and Adrian Grenier, the company touted that Americans watched 2.5 billion videos on Hulu in February — about 1,000 videos a second. Hulu also said it held 20 percent of the online video market and 40 percent of the premium video market.
Most of Hulu’s traffic comes from the 1,900 TV series on Hulu and Hulu Plus, but the company also has big hopes for its new original programming. Hulu recently has made inroads here by launching the political-themed series Battleground and Spurlock’s documentary series, A Day in the Life, and the site introduced its latest programming investments Thursday.