Hulu
Hulu logo.png
Hulu Logo
Provider The Walt Disney Company (USA)
HJ Holdings, Inc. (Japan)
Launched October 29, 2007[1]
Shutdown N/A
Service provided Subscription video on demand
Accessible by Web, Mobile, Smart TV, Consoles etc
Website hulu.com
hulu.jp

Hulu is a subscription video on demand service, majority owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its subsidiary, Hulu, LLC. Started in the United States on October 29, 2007[1], as a joint venture between News Corporation, NBC Universal[2], Providence Equity Partners[3] and later The Walt Disney Company[4], the service was originally free and was entirely funded by ads. On August 8, 2016, the free service ended, and Hulu moved exclusively to a subscription model[5], and a service allowing access to live TV was launched on May 3, 2017[6]. Since 2019, the service has been controlled by The Walt Disney Company, with the only other remaining owner, Comcast, agreeing to sell their minority stake to Disney by 2023[7] and started its integration with its sister service, Disney+ that same year.[8] On March 27, 2024, the integration offically launched, complete with a redesigned logo for Disney+, a new color scheme referencing Princess Aurora, the protagonist of Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty and a new theme composed and performed by Ludwig Göransson.[9] Hulu as a separate service will continue to exist which would continue to offer its Live TV services, while the one-app experience features Hulu's on-demand content with Disney+'s content which features content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic as well as general entertainment content from Disney and content from third-parties (with most titles being under the Star brand internationally). Its Latin American equivalent Star+, would shutter in July of that same year, with its content moving to Star and ESPN-branded hubs on Disney+.[10]

On September 1, 2011, Hulu was launched in Japan, the first of what was meant to be a worldwide expansion[11]. However, the Japanese service did not perform well, and on February 27, 2014 it was sold to Nippon Television[12]. Since then, the service in Japan has been run by HJ Holdings, Inc. (HJホールディングス株式会社 HJ hōrudingusu kabushiki gaisha), a Nippon Television subsidiary, and uses the Hulu name under licence.

United States

The Pokémon anime first became available to watch on Hulu in the United States on January 30, 2014, starting with the Pokémon Origins series, season 10 of the anime and the movie Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai[13]. Later additions included seasons 11 to 13 and Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior, Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life and Pokémon—Zoroark: Master of Illusions[14], as well as Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram[15], Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom[16] Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice[17] and Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened[18].

As of September 1st, 2017, all of the content related to Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon Origins had expired. Content related to Pokémon the Series: XY was removed on April 30, 2024.

Currently available

As of May 1, 2024, the following is available on Hulu in the United States:

Japan

The Pokémon anime first launched on Hulu in Japan on August 1, 2012, starting with Pocket Monsters (1997), Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! and Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! Season 2[20][21], and later followed by Pocket Monsters XY&Z[22].

Currently available

As of May 8, 2020, the following is available on Hulu in Japan:

Trivia

  • Despite Shogakukan's distribution of the 2004 versions of the first 37 episodes of the original series as official and legal material in all media in Japan, Hulu has the 1997 original versions (before EP038 happened) of the episodes to EP037.
    • Additionally, this collection did not include EP001, which remains as the 2004 version.
  • The Japanese version doesn't have the edited version of Holiday Hi-Jynx, unlike Prime Video and Netflix.
    • EP038 is still banned, despite having a preview in EP037.
  • All original series episodes are based on the rental and rerun versions.
  • All Pokémon the Series: Black & White episodes were based on the versions when BW was still on Hulu Japan that were originally broadcast by TV Tokyo.
    • This included exclusive segments during its premiere on TV Tokyo (as thanks to sponsors), but which are subsequently deleted or modified to rental versions and reruns on networks such as Kids Station.
    • BW022 had the original BW023 and BW024 preview when the series was still on Hulu Japan.
  • The English captions of the episodes available in the United States had words that were capitalized incorrectly, such as names of humans and Pokémon and Pokémon moves.

External Links

Hulu, LLC

HJ Holdings, Inc.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Hulu Debuts via Private Beta and on Distribution Partners AOL, Comcast, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! - Business Wire (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  2. NBC Universal and News Corp. Announce Deal with Internet Leaders - Business Wire (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  3. NBC and Fox Jump Through Hulu Hoop - CABLE360.NET (archived from the original March 9, 2008; retrieved May 8, 2020)
  4. Disney joins NBC and News Corp. with Hulu stake - The San Diego Union-Tribune (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  5. Hulu to End Free TV Service - The Hollywood Reporter (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  6. Hulu Live TV Service Launches With 50 Channels for $40 Monthly - Variety (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  7. Disney to take full control over Hulu, Comcast has option to sell its stake in 5 years - CNBC (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  8. Disney Plus and Hulu’s one-app experience is launching in beta - The Verge (retrieved April 15, 2024)
  9. Your Urgent Questions About the New Hulu on Disney+, Answered - Vulture (retrieved April 15, 2024)
  10. As Disney Streaming Streamlining Continues, Star+ To Shutter Next Year In Latin America As Content Shifts Onto Disney+ - Variety (retrieved April 15, 2024)
  11. Hulu officially launches streaming service in Japan - CNET (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  12. Hulu Japan to Be Acquired by Nippon TV - Variety (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  13. You can now watch Pokemon on Hulu in the US - Polygon (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  14. Pokemon Toons Coming to Hulu in the U.S. - Variety (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  15. Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram - Hulu, LLC (dead link)
  16. Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom - Hulu, LLC (dead link)
  17. Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice - Hulu, LLC (dead link)
  18. Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened - Hulu, LLC (dead link)
  19. Pokémon Detective Pikachu - Hulu, LLC (retrieved May 8, 2020) (archived)
  20. The "Pokémon" series first appeared on the online video distribution service Hulu! - The Pokémon Company (Japanese) (archived from the original November 15, 2012; retrieved May 8, 2020)
  21. Pokémon appears in "Hulu" - ITmedia (Japanese) (retrieved May 8, 2020)
  22. Pocket Monsters XY&Z - HJ Holdings, Inc. (Japanese) (dead link)
  23. Pocket Monsters (1997) - HJ Holdings, Inc. (Japanese) (retrieved May 8, 2020) (archived)
  24. Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon - HJ Holdings, Inc. (Japanese) (retrieved May 8, 2020) (archived)
  25. Pocket Monsters (2019) - HJ Holdings, Inc. (Japanese) (retrieved May 8, 2020) (archived)


Worldwide services*: Free: YouTube
Purchase: Prime VideoGoogle TV (YouTube) • iTunes Store
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United Kingdom only: Free: POP PlayerBBC iPlayer
Subscription: Now
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Project Mass Media logo.png This article is part of Project Mass Media, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on official Pokémon publishing, broadcasting, communications, and other media.