Welcome to Hulu

1:46 A.M. – Launch!

In these short 18 weeks since we began private beta testing, we’ve been working hard to kick the tires and check under the hood in preparation of opening the doors to our site. With well over 10,000 pieces of user feedback, we’ve heard your suggestions, comments, criticisms and praise. Today we are excited to leave our private beta and open Hulu.com to everyone in the U.S.. Our streaming video service is free – anyone in the U.S. with a broadband internet connection and a computer can just press play to enjoy.

We’ve also made significant additions to our content line-up. With the help of over 50 top content providers such as FOX, NBC Universal, MGM, Sony and Warner Bros., we’ve more than quadrupled the number of shows in our library, and on top of that, we’ve added 100 full-length movies. Hulu offers full-length episodes of not only current hit shows like The Simpsons and The Office but also classics like The Incredible Hulk, Miami Vice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and in some cases, as with Arrested Development, Firefly, and Friday Night Lights, we have every episode ever aired. Our expanded library of full-length movies has something for everyone, from The Usual Suspects to The Big Lebowski, Me, Myself & Irene, Mulholland Drive and (one of my personal favorites) Three Amigos!.

While we’re excited about the progress we’ve made during the last 18 weeks, we are well aware that we’ve got a long way to go in our mission to help people find and enjoy the world’s premium content. As a frustrated media consumer myself at times, I know we still have much work ahead of us before we can confidently say that we are bringing all the great content that is out there to users on their terms. It won’t happen overnight, but I’m optimistic about the progress we’ve made so far and will continue to make. We’ll work closely with our content partners to bring you the best collection of premium videos on the web, and we’ll continue to develop and leverage technology to make media truly easy for you. Your feedback has been critical in shaping the Hulu service, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Jason

P.S. For a longer and more eloquent description of the kind of company we aspire to be and the kind of ragtag crew we are, check out the personal blog of Hulu’s own Eugene Wei. He has a way with words, that Eugene.