Hulu Plus Streaming On Sony Bravia TVs

Cisco Umi

Hulu has released the premium version of its online video service for Sony Bravia televisions, expanding the number of devices that can play the service's growing list of network TV sitcoms and dramas.

Hulu said the Plus service was available for Bravia 2010 sets as of Thursday, with the service expanding to other Bravia devices in the near future. In the next week, Sony PlayStation 3 users with a PlayStation Network account, which is included with the video-game console, will be able to download the Hulu Plus client and subscribe to the service.

Hulu is expanding the premium service while it's still in preview mode. Launched in June, the service was available by invitation only. Hulu recently opened the service to everyone, but it remains in preview mode.

Hulu Plus offers subscribers the full season of all the current shows offered by Hulu, not just the handful of episodes that are available for free. In addition, users can access the shows through a Hulu-provided app for the Apple iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, or iPod Touch. Hulu Plus has been available for select Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players from Samsung Electronics.

News Corp., NBC Universal, The Walt Disney Co., and others own Hulu, which offers TV shows from 100 providers. Hulu Plus costs $9.99 a month.

The success of paid video services on the web depends on whether the content isn't readily available on paid TV, video on demands or regular programming, analysts say. However, Hulu's strategy of offering the full season of popular shows could prove popular with subscribers.