Cablevision Embraces OTT With HuluCablevision Embraces OTT With Hulu

In a further sign that the wall between traditional pay-TV services and OTT video services is breaking down rapidly, Cablevision plans to distribute Hulu to its subscribers.

Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) announced the deal with Hulu Tuesday, just a week after introducing its new broadband service packages with over-the-air antennas designed for "cord-cutters." The move also follows Cablevision's recent agreement to offer HBO Now, the new over-the-top video service from HBO. (See Cablevision Will Offer Hulu to Optimum Customers and Cablevision 'Cord Cutters' With New Package.)

Cablevision, which has about 3 million video and 3 million broadband subscribers in the New York metro area, said it will offer the full slate of Hulu's premium programming to its customers. Priced at about $8 per month, that slate includes full back seasons of programming from such networks as Fox, NBC, ABC and TNT, as well as current seasons of some network shows and older TV and movie titles.

Want to learn more about OTT, multiscreen and other next-gen video technologies? They will be a few of the many topics covered at Light Reading's second Big Telecom Event on June 9-10 in Chicago, which will include a special Video Summit. Sign up today! MSO officials did not say when they will introduce the service to their Optimum subscribers. They said they will announce pricing and other details in the near future. Now the big question is when other US cable operators will follow Cablevision's lead. While a few others have started offering Netflix to either their broadband or video subscribers, no other MSO has yet struck deals with either Hulu or HBO Now. Meanwhile, other major US cable operators are moving ahead on the multiscreen video front. In the latest move there, Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) announced the addition of live TV channels to its TWC TV app on Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)'s Xbox One video game and entertainment system. TWC customers with Xbox One consoles will now have access to the MSO's 300 live TV channels, along with 8,000 free and subscription titles. — Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading