When Hulu originally planned a UK launch, it looked like it would get an easy ride. However with mounting problems and ever delayed launches. It now looks like Hulu for the UK has been abandoned, leaving the online tv service as US only.

UK newspaper The Telegraph reported the failed UK expansion which was blamed on failure to reach advertising agreements with British broadcasters. At one point last year, insiders believed a deal between Hulu and ITV was possible, but even the ITV discussions have ended — not to mention any hopes for content deals with the BBC.

ITV, the biggest UK commercial network are pushing their own ITV Player and have made it clear they do not want to aggregate content elsewhere. The BBC have their own iPlayer and Canvas projects on the go and are also not showing any interest. Without these Hulu would have had to settle for marginal content.

ITV exec, Ben McOwen Wilson said:- “Hulu (Hulu) is a major success in the U.S. but the UK TV market is a different place. It is much more consolidated, which mean there are fewer online locations than in the U.S., which users need to visit to get access to their favourite content –- therefore there is less need for aggregators.”. Hulu are launching a subscription service next month, but even the lure of subscription payments it seems could not convince UK broadcasters to play ball.

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3. ITV Close To Signing A Deal With Hulu But May Delay UK Launch
4. Hulu Sitting at the Crossroads. Does it have a Future?
5. Hulu Launch First Run Straight To The Web Movie – In The Darkness