US Edition 
Hulu 'abandons UK plans' after broadcaster talks collapse
Hulu, the US video aggregator, has been forced to abandon plans to launch a UK version of its web TV service after talks with the major British broadcasters have collapsed, The Telegraph can reveal.
According to several senior broadcasting executives, members of Hulu’s negotiating team have said that the service will not launch in the UK in the forseeable future because they have been unable to get “any traction in the British TV market” and the “market does not match their business expectations”.
“Hulu’s talks with ITV have come to a halt because the broadcaster wants to focus on growing its own catch up service – ITV Player and not syndicate its content out to a third party at the moment. Conversations with Channel 4 and Five have also not come to any fruition because Hulu wants to sell the advertising inventory around both broadcasters’ content – like it does with US content - and this is not something either broadcaster is willing to concede ON. Hulu has told several people at the British broadcasters that it has been forced to abandon its UK expansion plans after failing to sign any content deals,” said a senior TV executive who has been close to the negotiations.
Hulu, which has enjoyed major success in the US, providing a free advertising supported video-on-demand service, is co-owned by News Corp, NBC Universal and Disney. It has been locked in talks with the major UK broadcasters for the best part of a year trying to sign exclusive content deals so it can launch its hugely successful TV service this side of the pond. Last August The Telegraph revealed that it had entered its most advanced discussions with ITV about an exclusive content arrangement – which would see the broadcaster in return take a share of equity in the company.
However, Ben McOwen Wilson, ITV’s director of online and interactive, disclosed last month that ITV is only focusing on developing its own player and has no plans to syndicate its content to third parties, including Hulu. He said: “Hulu is a major success in the US but the UK TV market is a different place. It is much more consolidated, which mean there are fewer online locations than in the US, which users need to visit to get access to their favourite content – therefore there is less need for aggregators.”
ITV refused to give additional comment for this piece. Industry insiders predict Adam Crozier, ITV’s new chief executive, who began earlier this week, will want to continue with this ITV-focused digital strategy.
The last talks Hulu had with either Channel 4 or Five are understood to be over three weeks ago, just before the MIP TV Festival (April 4-8) in Cannes, (at which Johannes Larcher, senior vice president of international, Hulu, spoke on a panel alongside ITV). The Telegraph understands that no further meetings between either broadcaster and Hulu have been arranged.
Channel 4 declined to comment, while Five was unavailable.
A source close to Hulu said that the company had not totally ruled out a UK launch somewhere down the line: “It has definitely had to postpone its UK expansion plans, which the team are disappointed by. But without being able to secure any exclusive content – because Channel 4 and Five have already signed third party deals with YouTube and SeeSaw and ITV isn’t playing ball, it had to ensure it could sell the advertising inventory around the content it could secure. When those talks fell through – Hulu has been forced to walk away. But it remains hopeful that it can have a UK presence in the future – when the broadcasters realise they need to be more flexible with their business models.”
Hulu declined to comment.