Cablevision announced the integration of Hulu into its Optimum TV service so subscribers can access the online streaming TV service directly from the program guide on set-tops. It is the first cable provider to activate a channel dedicated to Hulu.
As a comparison, integration of Netflix into traditional pay TV has been done by a variety of pay TV operators. This includes 25 active operator partnerships, according to a report put out in February by research company IHS Technology. Netflix has generally been found to benefit operators’ businesses, while co-existing well with more traditional parts of the bundle, according to Ted Hall, research director, television at IHS.
Hulu service can be accessed through Cablevision’s Optimum Channel 605. Subscribers who already have a Hulu subscription can tune to the channel from their HD set-top and sign into their Hulu account. Customers without a Hulu account can get a free trial offer and then subscribe through Optimum.
The launch of Hulu on Optimum TV is powered by ActiveVideo’s CloudTV StreamCast product, which enables online video content to be delivered to set-tops in a customer’s home.
ActiveVideo CMO Murali Nemani blogs about the integration here, and says what sets the Cablevision/Hulu relationship apart is how they’re using cloud virtualization to break new ground in content delivery, content security and content navigation.
“Ever since the first attempts to bridge online content and pay TV, we’ve always felt that combining the two into a single user experience should be basic math, not a quadratic equation of multiple remote controls, third-party devices and audio and video inputs,” Nemani observes.