Hulu Online Video Service

Walt Disney Co., signaling a dramatic shift in its Internet strategy, is negotiating with longtime media rivals to take an equity stake in Hulu.com, the fast-growing website where users can watch movies and TV episodes for free. In exchange, Disney would provide episodes of ABC shows to Hulu, significantly broadening the program offerings to include such hits as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives."

Hulu is losing two of its biggest stars. Comedy Central is yanking "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" off the popular video website after the companies could not agree on a plan to share advertising revenue. Hulu said Tuesday that the shows will go off the site after March 9. Viewers still will be able to get their Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert fix free -- on thedailyshow.com and colbertnation.com, websites owned by Comedy Central parent Viacom Inc. The move throws a wrench into Hulu's ambitions to become an online showcase of top programs from all networks.

Since Hulu launched early last year, its popularity has quadrupled as millions of people turn to the free online video site to watch episodes of such television shows as "Family Guy," "The Office" and "Modern Family." Some wonder how long the free flow of online video would last if Comcast Corp. ends up a part owner of Hulu. The nation's leading cable company has made no secret of its disdain for Hulu's approach of giving away the shows that Comcast and other pay-TV distributors spend billions for -- and rely on to retain subscribers.

EMI Music became the first major music company to agree to distribute its music videos and concert footage on Hulu, the popular online video site. The London company will make content available from its various music labels, including Virgin, Capitol and Blue Note. It launches with exclusive footage of Norah Jones performing music from her new album, "The Fall," in a concert at Le Poisson Rouge in New York. Music videos already have shown appeal for rival online video site YouTube, which is working with Universal Music Group to develop a service called Vevo, which would highlight such content on YouTube and elsewhere online.

Hulu is losing two of its biggest stars. Comedy Central is yanking "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" off the popular video website after the companies could not agree on a plan to share advertising revenue. Hulu said Tuesday that the shows will go off the site after March 9. Viewers still will be able to get their Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert fix free -- on thedailyshow.com and colbertnation.com, websites owned by Comedy Central parent Viacom Inc. The move throws a wrench into Hulu's ambitions to become an online showcase of top programs from all networks.

Online video site Hulu trumpeted its ascension to the media big time a few months back with a dash of sardonic humor. In its debut TV commercial, in which Alec Baldwin mocks the audience's addiction to the very shows he creates as a fictional network executive, the site calls itself "an evil plot to destroy the world." The joke is uneasily close to the truth for some in the television business. Once dismissed as "Clown Co."

EMI Music became the first major music company to agree to distribute its music videos and concert footage on Hulu, the popular online video site. The London company will make content available from its various music labels, including Virgin, Capitol and Blue Note. It launches with exclusive footage of Norah Jones performing music from her new album, "The Fall," in a concert at Le Poisson Rouge in New York. Music videos already have shown appeal for rival online video site YouTube, which is working with Universal Music Group to develop a service called Vevo, which would highlight such content on YouTube and elsewhere online.

It's about to get a lot harder to turn off the TV. A torrent of television-ready gadgets will hit the store shelves this year, including dozens of phones and tablet computers that will allow viewers to watch movies and TV shows from just about anywhere. The proliferation of viewing devices ? including a new generation of TV sets that connect to the Internet ? could boost the chances that viewers will do what cable and satellite companies fear most: cancel their $70-a-month subscriptions in favor of cheaper Web options.

Netflix is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to offer more than just flicks. The video subscription company on Wednesday unveiled a deal to stream reruns from Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network and cable channels Disney Channel and ABC Family through its online service. The agreement, which lasts one year with an option to extend it, is valued at $150 million to $200 million, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Netflix, which built its business by delivering DVDs through the mail in red envelopes, is fast transitioning into an Internet streaming provider that is an increasingly formidable competitor to cable and satellite television systems and pay TV channels such as HBO. Two-thirds of the company's nearly 17 million subscribers have watched video on Netflix's online service, which can be delivered through computers or directly to television sets with Web connections.

New Corp.'s Peter Chernin is wrestling over whether to surrender one of the biggest jobs in entertainment. For the last 12 years, Chernin has been president and chief operating officer of News Corp. and helped his boss, Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch, reshape the global media empire. But at 57, he's not sure whether to extend his contract for an additional two or three years, or embark on another, less certain, chapter in his career. Executives within News Corp.

Since Hulu launched early last year, its popularity has quadrupled as millions of people turn to the free online video site to watch episodes of such television shows as "Family Guy," "The Office" and "Modern Family." Some wonder how long the free flow of online video would last if Comcast Corp. ends up a part owner of Hulu. The nation's leading cable company has made no secret of its disdain for Hulu's approach of giving away the shows that Comcast and other pay-TV distributors spend billions for -- and rely on to retain subscribers.

Online video site Hulu trumpeted its ascension to the media big time a few months back with a dash of sardonic humor. In its debut TV commercial, in which Alec Baldwin mocks the audience's addiction to the very shows he creates as a fictional network executive, the site calls itself "an evil plot to destroy the world." The joke is uneasily close to the truth for some in the television business. Once dismissed as "Clown Co."

Walt Disney Co., signaling a dramatic shift in its Internet strategy, is negotiating with longtime media rivals to take an equity stake in Hulu.com, the fast-growing website where users can watch movies and TV episodes for free. In exchange, Disney would provide episodes of ABC shows to Hulu, significantly broadening the program offerings to include such hits as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives."

Loved and feared, Hulu — the online video service that offers free streams of episodes of such popular TV shows as "Glee" and "The Office" — commands more than 43 million users. Hulu's rapid rise since its launch in March 2008 has provoked shudders in Hollywood, where it's feared the website is teaching consumers, especially younger ones glued to laptops, to expect easy access to TV's best shows — all for free. And that, providers fret, will only encourage people to drop their pay TV subscriptions, which pays for the enormous cost of producing sitcoms and dramas.

Striking writer Peter Hyoguchi was walking the picket line outside Disney's ABC Studios in Burbank in January when he had an epiphany. What if scriptwriters launched a website featuring their work, which they would own and control free of studio interference? That hunch is about to be tested. After months of planning and delay, Hyoguchi and his colleagues have turned their seemingly quixotic idea into a reality.