uAT&T Makes Deal With Hulu To Integrate Video Contentr

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• Hulu, which recently announced a deal that would let Cablevision sell the streaming service directly to its broadband subscribers, is continuing to make a big push to increase its reach. Today, the company unveiled a deal with AT&T that will integrate Hulu video and AT&T’s live and video-on-demand offerings on new mobile and web-based apps.

  Starting in the vague “later this year,” Hulu subscribers with AT&T service will have access to a mobile app that combines the live TV Everywhere access and its VOD library. You’ll still need to pay a monthly subscription for Hulu Plus content, but it will all be in one place.

  Today’s announcement is notably vague, talking only about “AT&T customers” without differentiating between wireless, U-Verse, and GigaPower customers. When asked by Consumerist, the company would only say that the Hulu content will be available through an app to all its customers later this year.

  For Hulu, the deal puts its streaming service — which rarely gets the attention given to competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime — front and center for more than 100 million current AT&T customers.

  Today’s announcement also mentioned the possibility of a future TV-based app. Presumably that would not only reach AT&T’s current U-Verse subscribers, but also the more than 20 million DirecTV customers that AT&T is about to acquire.

  For its part, AT&T will eventually be able to bundle Hulu Plus subscriptions in with its other services. While the company is not giving examples, it could possibly do things like offer free Hulu Plus access for a few months for new customers, or give discounts on Hulu Plus for subscribers who pay for bigger data plans.

  If anything, this news is slightly encouraging, as it shows that AT&T — which is about to become the second-largest pay-TV company in the country — is not necessarily viewing streaming services as the enemy, but as a potential revenue source and marketing partner.

  A rep for AT&T says the company is currently talking to other possible streaming video partners about similar agreements.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist