Sinclair Broadcast Group #1- Stern

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Samuel Stern

Samuel Stern

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. Logo (Photo courtesy of blog.solidsignal.com) [1]

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.

10706 Beaver Dam Rd

Hunt Valley, MD 21030

sbgi.net

Company Background

The Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. (SBG), is the largest broadcaster of television content in the United States. Sinclair owns and operates the majority of 164 television stations in 79 US markets, and owns the rest through local marketing agreements. The company reaches the largest and smallest US markets and controls the largest number of ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and MYTV affiliates in the country. Sinclair also operates 3 radio stations in the Seattle-Tacoma Market [3].

SBG Network Affiliates (photo courtesy of sbgi.net) [2]

The Maryland-based broadcaster is the nation’s leading local news provider, has recently begun the distribution of premium college and high-school sports programming, and operates the American Sports Network and the Ring of Honor Wrestling league. After making making several lucrative deals to acquire stations in new markets, including a re-negotiation with DISH Network, Sinclair now reaches 37.6% of U.S. television households. Recent success has given Sinclair the opportunity to pursue new business ventures and acquire new assets [4].

ONEMedia logo, one of Sinclair’s most recent technology investments [19]

Sinclair also makes strategic equity investments through its Business Venture subsidiary. The company holds interests in multiple media and technology companies such as Acrodyne Services, ONEMedia, and Dielectric, as well as in real estate properties [5] (Scroll to investments).

Leadership

David D Smith, President & CEO (Photo courtesy of bizjournals.com) [6]

David D. Smith, President & CEO
Frederick G Smith, Vice President
Dr. J Duncan Smith, Vice President
David B. Amy, Executive VP & COO
Christopher S. Ripley, CFO

For further Bio’s of Sinclair Executives: http://sbgi.net/corporate-governance/

History

Julian Sinclair Smith, Founder (photo courtesy of sbgi.net) [10]

In 1971, Julian Sinclair Smith started the Chesapeake Television Corporation, which operated one station in Baltimore. That one station would eventually be the cornerstone of the nation’s largest broadcast company. Julian’s sons David, Fred, and Duncan would take over the company, and in the early 1980’s change the name to the Sinclair Broadcast Company, Inc. David D. Smith took over the company as president and CEO. Throughout the 1990’s, the brothers would go on a buying spree of content that allowed Sinclair to dominate the industry, increasing its number of television stations from 3 to 59. They purchased content in markets across the country, large and small. The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 allowed for some deregulation of buying control by the FCC, which allowed the company to make more important station acquisitions. This entrepreneurial attitude and progressive vision is still integrated throughout the company today [9].

Financials

The Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. went public in 1995 and is currently traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market at $35.36 per share. The company has just released its Third Quarter Financial Results, revealing that the executives expectations were exceeded over the past year. Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2014, Sinclair realized a massive 10.8% revenue increase of $548.4 million versus $495.0 million the year before. The total yearly revenue increased 17.9% to $1.6 billion, versus $1.36 billion in the prior year period [7].

According to a late September Financial presentation at the Deutsche Bank Leveraged Financial conference, Sinclair reported a large increase in the amount of money the company can use to pursue its current ventures and find opportunities to enhance shareholder value, purchase more assets, and branch out to other revenue streams [8].

This influx of revenue has allowed Sinclair to work on technological advances to the company, a new initiative it has been following over the last year.

Key Initiatives

Sinclair has been on a buying spree throughout the past quarter.

The American Sports Network (ASN), Sinclair’s premiere sports division, broadcasts sports from 18 different NCAA athletic conferences [12]. The games are aired over stations that Sinclair owns or are syndicated through non-Sinclair stations. The ASN, launched in 2014, just made two deals in September with ESPN to carry Mid-American Conference football and basketball games, and to broadcast 10 American Athletic Conference Men’s basketball games per year on the large new sports platform [11].

American Sports Network logo (photo courtesy of wikipedia.com) [15]

Sinclair is being aggressive in order to bolster the progress of the ASN. They are currently negotiating a $500 million deal to buy the Tennis Channel, which operates 90% of Tennis content in the U.S. reaching 35 million homes [13].

On October 31st, the first-ever 24/7 Sci-fi multi-channel network was launched through a joint venture between Sinclair, MGM, and Michael Eisner’s Tornante investment company. The network is called COMET, and was the largest multicast channel release ever, reaching over 60% of the country [16]. The deal notes an effort by Sinclair to own its content due to the fact that it has almost reached the FCC limit for television ownership.

COMET logo, Sinclair’s newly owned Sci-fi Network (photo courtesy of comettv.com) [14]

On November 4th, Sinclair closed a deal with Pappas Telecasting and Lincoln Broadcasting in Central Nebraska to purchase a Fox affiliate and multiple ABC affiliated news stations. Sinclair purchased the stations for $31.25 million and the FCC has approved the deal [17]. This is a basic transaction for Sinclair in their pursuit of owning broadcast platforms in more markets.

Projections

Sinclair has taken advantage of its recent success to pursue initiatives that technologically advance the company and continue its dominance over the broadcast industry. One way to increase its footprint in an increasingly digitized world is the ability to broadcast and advertise on mobile platforms and enhance the broadcast experience. ONEMedia is working with all levels of the broadcast industry, from content producers to distributors, to design the “Next Level Broadcast Platform” that integrates mobile devices, creates an Ultra High Definition layout to broadcast, and creates new business models that improve upon the current structure of the industry [18].

Marketron Logo, Sinclair’s newest business partner. (Photo courtesy of contactworld.com). [25]

In late November, Sinclair and the leading media software provider Marketron negotiated a multi-year contract for Sinclair’s stations to use Marketron’s location-based mobile advertising. By studying demographics and utilizing mobile networks, Marketron allows advertisers to maximize accuracy and reach. This is a tactical move for Sinclair as it adds revenue streams by attracting potential advertisers to Sinclair’s growing reach [20].

Sinclair was recently part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pearl TV, a partnership of 9 leading broadcast companies, and Samsung Electronics America, the nation’s leader in television sales for the last 9 years [26]. The MOU will sustain technological advances in the industry and look to develop new ways to broadcast premium content to consumers. The three companies will implement the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) to overlook and advance the technical standards for broadcasting [21].

SAMSUNG Electronics Logo (photo courtesy of commons.org). [22]

To more accurately monitor the affect of these technological advancements on consumers, Sinclair signed a new deal with Rentrak, a demographic rating service, on November 11th. Rentrak has already been working with Sinclair on a smaller deal, but will now cover all of Sinclair’s stations. Rentrak will provide Sinclair with accurate qualitative data from large sample sizes that will benefit all of Sinclair’s advertisers [23].

Sinclair is looking to consolidate the growing responsibilities of the company in order to streamline the organization of new assets. On September 10th, Jerry Lilly, a former CNN executive, was named to the new position of Vice President of Operations. He will work closely with the VP of Data Systems and the VP of Engineering to incorporate new workflows into the company and ensure that Sinclair’s TV facilities around the country are equipped with the most up-to-date technology [24].

The buying spree that Sinclair has been on recently has brought it close to the FCC station ownership cap of 39% of TV homes [27]. The company will look to start owning more of its content to create revenue streams, while still upholding its current re-transmisison and affiliate contracts that have put Sinclair at the top of the broadcast industry.

Sources

(photos contain URL)

[1] SBG Logo. http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SBG-Sinclair-Broadcast-Group.jpg

[2] SBG Network Affiliate Logos. http://sbgi.net/wp-content/themes/sbgi-sparkling/images/affiliates.png

[3] SBG Summary Page.

[4] SBG Company News Release. Sinclair Broadcast Group Announces Agreement to Swap Television Stations With Gray Television,

[5] SBG Investment Information, http://sbgi.net/ (Scroll to investment information).

[6] David D. Smith Photo. http://assets.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/David-Smith*750.jpg?v=1.

[7] SBG Third Quarter Earnings Call (2015),

[8] SBG Financial Report (2015). Deutsche Bank Leveraged Financial Conference Presentation.

[9] SBG History (2015).

[10] Julian Sinclair Smith Photo (2015). http://sbgi.net/history/1970s/.

[11] Kuperberg, J. (2015). Sinclair’s American Sports Network to Televise AAC Men’s Basketball Games, Broadcasting & Cable.

[12] American Sports Network Conferences (2015). http://americansportsnet.com/conferences

[13] Cynopsis Media (2015). Sinclair Hits the Market, Cynopsis,

[14] COMET Network Logo (2015). http://comettv.com/

[15] American Sports Network Logo (2015). https://sp.yimg.com/xj/th?id=OIP.Mf26c3227d715a63de7998852578bc82fo0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300.

[16] SBG News Release (2015). SBG and MGM Announce COMET, First-Ever Science Ficiton Multi-Channel Network, to Premiere October 31st.

[17] McAdams, D. D. (2015). Sinclair to Buy Pappas Stations for $31.25 million, TV Technology,

[18] SBG ONEMedia Information (2015). http://sbgi.net/one-media/,

[19] ONEMedia Company Logo (2015). http://www.onemediallc.com/images/logo-main.jpg.

[20] Lafayette, J. (2015). Sinclair Signs Exclusive Deal with Marketron, Broadcasting & Cable,

[21] SBG News Release (2015). Samsung, Pearl TV and Sinclair Broadcast Group Announce MOU to Speed Development and Implementation of Next-Gen Broadcast UHDTV Standards.

[22] SAMSUNG Electronics Logo (2015), http://bit.ly/1TkZ7f4,

[23] Lafayette, J. (2015). Sinclair Signs New Deal for Data From Rentrak. Broadcasting & Cable.

[24] SBG Company News Release (2015). Sinclair Names Jerry Lilly To The Newly Created Position Of Vice President Of Operations.

[25] Marketron Company Logo (2015). https://www.contactcenterworld.com/images/company/marketron-largex3-logo.png

[26] Tendra, J. (2015). Memorandum of Understanding Form. Sample Template.

[27] Halonen, D. (2013). FCC Mulls Hard 39% Cap on TV Ownership. TVNews Check.

Disney/ABC– (TV broadcast & cable properties only)

Posted on October 5, 2014 by jlmend02

by Jessica Mendelson

Image courtesy of Deadline

HISTORY

Founded in 2004 Disney/ABC Television Group is a large division of The Walt Disney Company that is in charge of, “global entertainment and news television properties, owned television stations group and a radio business [1].” The Group is currently run by Disney Media Networks President Anne Sweeney [3] but by the end of this year she will be succeeded by Ben Sherwood [6].

Anne Sweeney – Photo courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Ben Sherwood – Photo courtesy of Disney ABC TV

FINANCIALS

DIS Stock Price 2014 – Image courtesy of Etrade

The Group is a division of the much larger Walt Disney Company, which is a publicly traded New York Stock Exchange Company labeled as DIS. Their market cap, how much the company is worth, is $156.87 billion. Their most current stock price is $92.51. They pay annual dividends, and at the end of their fiscal year on September 27, 2014 their net income was $7.5 billion. The companies Media Networks (which Disney/ABC TV Group falls under) consist of 45% of their revenue. The Network’s 4th quarter net income increased 5% to 5.2 billion, after a $10 million loss in cable and a $5 million gain in broadcast. [27] [28]

THE BUSINESS

The Group is divided into 6 different businesses that run ABC and Disney Television, production and distribution, and radio development. These include: ABC Entertainment Group (which is a joint business of ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios), ABC Family, ABC News, ABC Owned Television Stations Group, Disney/ABC Television Group Digital Media, and Disney/ABC Domestic Television [7].

The biggest part of the Group’s fall primetime season is 6 new shows created by the ABC Entertainment Group. The shows are; “Forever,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “‘black-ish,” “Cristela,” “Manhattan Love Story,” and “Selfie.” In the past this division has produced shows such as: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Modern Family,” “Scandal, and “Dancing with the Stars [4].”

Image courtesy of abcmedianet.com

FALL SEASON

In the Nielsen November Sweeps period ABC had the most impressive numbers across the board for non-sports programming for adults 18-49. ABC’s press release on November 25, 2014 [5] showed that ABC beat out CBS by 31%, NBC by 31% and Fox by 61% in terms of overall viewers.

Up 1% in Viewership (Adults 18-49) from last November – which is equal to 100,000 more sets of eyeballs.
Number one for 4 of 7 nights in any week in November – this also includes the top spot for every Thursday thanks to their 8:00-10:00 lineup.
Highest Rated TV Series – out of the Top 15 series for the sweeps ABC boasts 6 of them. They also have the two top dramas which are tied for number 1, “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder.”
ABC is number one in 10pm hour for second year – this year (2014) and last year (2013), for Monday-Friday, ABC is top for this hour, which is an important lead-in to local news at affiliate stations. [5]

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Successes

1. How to Get Away with Murder

Image courtesy of Google Play

From executive producer Shonda Rhimes this drama follows law Professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) as she involves herself with four of her students [10].

Latest Thursday rating was 3.1 and viewers were 9.82 million in adults 18-49 [18].
Part of the, “Shondaland” Thursday lineup in the 1 hour 10:00pm spot [19].
In ratings and total viewers the show was up 7% in it’s last week [20].
The show is currently on a holiday break until 1/29/15 [10].

Thursday has been a HUGE night for ABC this fall. “Grey’s Anatomy” is 8-9, “Scandal” is 9-10 and then the newcomer “HTGAWM” follows that at 10. Each show shares executive producer Shonda Rhimes. For all of November sweeps ABC won Thursday Nights for the 4 consecutive weeks of the period.

2. Forever

Image courtesy CinemaBlend

Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffud) is the top medical examiner in NYC, the secret behind his success? He examines the dead to try to find an answer to his own immortality [11].

1.0 rating in adults 18-49 which is up from the previous weeks 0.9 [21].
Tuesday 10:00 1-hour time slot.

3. ‘black-ish

Image courtesy jezebel.com

In this comedy Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson (Anthony Anderson) wonders if his quintessential life in the suburbs with his wife, daughter and son have, “brought too much assimilation for [his] black family [12].”

2.6 rating and 7.82 million viewers in adults 18-49 [22].
Wednesday 9:30 half-hour time slot.

“‘black-ish” has an excellent lead in with “Modern Family” being in the half-hour slot before it. “Modern Family” has around 10 million viewers, so that’s helping boost numbers for “‘black-ish.”

4. Cristela

Image courtesy of subscene.com

Cristela (Cristela Alonzo) is in her sixth and final year of law school but her traditional Mexican-American family is having trouble understanding her pursuit of this career. Cristela tries to balance old traditions with the modern world that she is working and living in [13].

1.0 rating and 5.19 million viewers in adults 18-49 [23].
Fridays at 8:30, half-hour time slot.

The full season has been ordered for the show, meaning 9 new episodes are on its way for the freshman comedy [24].

Flops

1. Selfie

Image courtesy of kenlevine.blogspot.com

Image courtesy of ABC Network

Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillan) has tons of social media ‘friends’ but seems to be missing some actual friends. She asks the help of a marketing guru played by John Cho in order to ‘rebrand’ herself to make real-life connections [15].

The show order was for 13 shows, but it was canceled after 6 airings [9].
It’s been rumored by the shows executive producer, Emily Kapnek, that the entire series, including the 7 un-aired shows, will be released on Hulu [8].
Its last rating was 1.5, 4.7 million viewers in adults 18-49 [9].

2. Manhattan Love Story

Image courtesy of ABC Network

This comedy exposes the differences in thought between men and women as they begin dating. This leads to opposing thoughts, and differing actions between new couple Dana (Analeigh Tipton) and Peter (Jake McDorman) [14].

After 4 episodes aired the show was pulled [16].
Premiered with a 1.3, 4.3 million viewers in adults 18-49

“Selfie” and “Love Story” were back-to-back half hour-comedies that filled up the 9:00 hour on Tuesdays. It was a tough lead-in for ABC’s drama “Forever” at 10:00 [17]. However, “Forever” hung-on for a full season where as the comedies got the axe.

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

ABC has 3 new dramas, “American Crime,” “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” “Secrets and Lies,” and a comedy, “Galavant,” slated to premiere in early 2015. There’s also the drama “The Whispers” and the comedy “Fresh Off the Boat” which have yet to be slated [2].

Image courtesy of Hollywood Reporter

Under the ABC Owned Station Groups, Disney/ABC is launching a new syndicated talk show with host Tyra Banks. The title as of now is, “The F-A-B,” which stands for Fun and Beautiful. It will include a panel of lifestyle gurus who will answer questions and talk to celebrities about what’s going on in social media, food, fashion and more [25].

ABC and producer Mark Gordon are writing a comedy with, and starring Iliza Schlesinger, called “Forever 31.” The hope is to make Schlesinger the top female in primetime comedy. The show depicts the struggles of her and her friends trying to become adults and the comedic trials of their everyday lives [26].

Sources

[1] Disney/ABC Television Group Homepage, disneyabctv.com, RT: 11/25/14

[2] ABC Unveils 2014-15 Primetime Lineup, 5/12/14, abcmedianet.com, RT: 11/25/14

[3] Disney/ABC Television Group Executives, disneyabctv.com, RT: 11/25/14

[4] Disney/ABC Entertainment Group Overview, disneyabctv.com, RT: 11/25/14

[5] ABC November 2014 Sweeps Press Release, 11/25/14, abcmedianet.com, RT: 11/29/14

[6] Ben Sherwood to Succeed Anne Sweeney, 3/24/14, abcmedianet.com, RT: 11/29/14

[7] The Walt Disney Company Media Networks, thewaltdisneycompany.com, RT: 11/29/14

[8] ‘Selfie’ Unaired ABC Episodes Head to Hulu, 11/24/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[9] ABC Cancels ‘Selfie’, 11/7/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[10] How to Get Away with Murder, abc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[11] Forever, abc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[12] black-ish, abc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[13] Cristela, abc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[14] Manhattan Love Story, abc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[15] Selfie, abc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[16] ABC Cancels ‘Manhattan Love Story,’ 10/24/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[17] ABC Tuesday Comedies Premiere Low, 10/1/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[18] ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ Goes Out On a High as ABC Dominates Thursday, 11/21/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[19] ABC Wins Third Straight Thursday as ‘Scandal’ Hits A 6-Week High & ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ a Three-Week High, 11/14/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[20] ABC Hits a Season High in Adults 18-49 and Claims 7 of the Top 20 TV Shows the Week of November 17, 2014, 11/25/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[21] TV Ratings Tuesday, 11/19/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[22] Wednesday Final Ratings, 11/20/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[23] Friday Final Ratings, 11/24/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[24] ABC Gives ‘Cristela’ Full-Season Pickup, 11/24/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[25] Syndicated Daytime Talker, ‘The F-A-B,’ 10/20/14, thefutoncritic.com, RT: 11/25/14

[26] Iliza Shlesinger To Topline ABC Comedy, 11/20/14, Deadline, RT: 11/25/14

[27] The Walt Disney Company Quarter Four and Fiscal Year 2014 Reports, 11/6/14, thewaltdisneycompany.com, RT: 11/29/14

[28] Disney Stock Information, thewaltdisneycompany.com, RT: 11/29/14

Hulu

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Caroline Soss

By Caroline Soss

Photo courtesy of: [1] www.crunchbase.com

ADDRESS

12312 West Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064 [2]

CONTACT

Phone (310) 570-4700
Website www.hulu.com
Twitter @hulu

PROFILE

Hulu is an over-the-top video service provider streaming on-demand programming from NBC, ABC, A&E, AMC, FOX, The CW, MTV and more.

Hulu offers advertisement-supported free programming with limited commercial interruption on its website Hulu.com. Regular advertisers include Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Microsoft, GEICO and Target.

Photo courtesy of: [4] www.vulture.com

For a monthly fee of $7.99, Hulu Plus subscribers can stream unlimited premium and exclusive content from any Hulu+ enabled device. These devices include smart televisions, game consoles, smartphones/tablets and media players like Apple TV and Roku [3].

Hulu delivers over 70,400 hours of video from 514 different content partners [5]. Hulu streams popular TV shows such as FAMILY GUY, SCANDAL, THE VOICE, PARKS AND RECREATION, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART [6] and more than 800 films from The Criterion Collection [7].

Photo courtesy of: [6] www.hulu.com

Hulu also produces its own original content like DEADBEAT, EAST LOS HIGH, THE AWESOMES and THE HOTWIVES OF ORLANDO [8].

Watch Hulu’s promo for their 2014 Originals here. Video courtesy of: [9] www.hulu.com.

Hulu.com was launched in 2008 as a joint venture between Comcast’s NBCUniversal and News Corporation [10]. Today, NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company’s Disney-ABC Television Group and 21st Century Fox’s Fox Broadcasting Company together own Hulu’s online subscription service [11].

As of February 2014, Hulu reported more than five million Hulu+ subscribers and thirty million monthly free service users [12] with over four billion videos streamed in 2013 [13].

KEY EXECUTIVES

CEO Mike Hopkins, photo courtesy of: [14] www.engadget.com

Last October, Hulu replaced its acting CEO with Mike Hopkins, former President of Distribution at Fox for five years [14]. Within weeks of joining the company, Hopkins hired Disney’s Elaine Paul as CFO [11]. In February 2014, Hopkins hired NBC’s Peter Naylor as SVP of Advertising Sales [13] and Sony’s Tiam Lim as Chief Technology Officer [12]. In March 2014, Disney’s Tim Connolly joined the company as Head of Distribution [15]. In April 2014, Warner Bros.’ Craig Erwich was hired as Hulu’s SVP and Head of Content [16].

FINANCIALS

Hulu is a privately held company and not required to publicly release its financial information. However, CEO Mike Hopkins reported Hulu earning one billion dollars in annual revenue at the end of last year [17]. In 2013, Hulu’s owners (Comcast, Disney and 21st Century Fox) also dropped offers to sell Hulu and instead invested $750 million dollars into the company [11].

Photo courtesy of: [18] www.techcrunch.com

FOCUS IN THE U.S.

In February 2014, Hulu sold its Japanese subsidiary to Tokyo-based Nippon Television Network Corporation. Since 2011, Hulu had streamed 13,000+ videos from fifty different American and European content providers to Japan. While Hulu will continue to make its content and brand available for use by Nippon TV as well as provide infrastructure service to the Japanese company, Hulu will focus on the U.S. rather than internationally [19].

MULTI-PLATFORM

Hulu aims to operate on all types of platforms with 50% of Hulu+ subscribers streaming solely on devices [17].

Photo courtesy of: [21] blog.hulu.com

In April 2014, Amazon.com launched Amazon Fire TV – the company’s new set-top box/game console hybrid positioned to replace media players like Apple TV, Roku and Xbox [20].

Amazon Fire TV streams not only Amazon’s own online video subscription service (Amazon Prime) but also partner on-demand services, including Hulu Plus. Hulu promises the “most enhanced and updated version of the Hulu Plus Living Room experience on Amazon Fire TV” [21]. Further, Amazon added Hulu Plus to the list of services available through voice search by speaking into the Fire TV remote – making Hulu even easier to utilize on this new platform [22].

NEW CONTENT

Hulu is continuing to grow its content library with both current season television and original programming [17].

Photo courtesy of: [23] blog.hulu.com

In April 2014, CEO Mike Hopkins announced Hulu will be exclusively streaming NBCUniversal-produced THE MINDY PROJECT and Golden Globe-winning comedy BROOKLYN NINE-NINE as well as popular series like KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS and TOP CHEF. These high-in-demand hit programs will not be available to competitors Netflix or Amazon Prime, ultimately giving Hulu monopoly control over more content [23].

Hulu also recently acquired the rights to stream ELEMENTARY, the highly rated CBS drama starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu [24], and popular CBS classics like THE BRADY BRUNCH and CHEERS.

Photo courtesy of: [25] blog.hulu.com

Hulu is expanding its library of popular TV shows from past decades [25]. This may be a tactic to keep fairly older viewers, who grew up with this content, entertained; 60% of Hulu subscribers fall between the ages of 18 and 49 years old with an average age of 39 [26].

Photo courtesy of: [26] www.hulu.com/advertising

However, the Nielsen Company will continue excluding broadband-only households, a large total of Hulu Plus viewership, in the ratings for the 2014-2015 television season [27].

ORIGINAL CONTENT

Hulu developed twenty original series in 2013 and plans to launch twenty more this year [28]. Hulu’s original shows THE AWESOMES, BEHIND THE MASK and THE WRONG MANS were among the top ten weekly shows watched on Hulu when they aired in 2013 and were all recently renewed for another season in 2014 [17].

New in 2014, Hulu’s original comedy series DEADBEAT, starring Tyler Labine, is receiving strong reviews from Variety, the New York Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer since its premiere [29]. All ten episodes of the show’s first season were uploaded to Hulu on April 9th, 2014, and only hours later DEADBEAT as dubbed “Hulu’s best show yet” [30].

Photo courtesy of: [29] www.hulu.com

DEADBEAT follows Kevin Pacalioglu (Tyler Labine), a lazy stoner who can see the dead and becomes a freelance medium to pay his rent, helping ghosts move on to the afterlife by competing in eating contests and proposition their ex-girlfriends.

Watch the DEADBEAT series trailer here. Video courtesy of: [31] www.hulu.com.

Critics, however, argue that Hulu being owned by television companies may explain why competitor Netflix is still spending so much more than Hulu on original programming [32].

TV EVERYWHERE

In the past year, Hulu has hired 260 new employees to complete a staff of more than 725 members with plans to continue growing the company [17].

As public interest in more convenient Internet TV Everywhere services grows, analysts predict subscribers may more easily authenticate their pay services through a social media account like Facebook or Twitter – a business tactic that may be in Hulu’s near future [33].