Hulu, Streaming Service | featured news

Netflix on Monday officially declared its future is the Internet, saying the DVD market has “peaked.” But experts wonder if the online streaming giant — now with 25 million subscribers in the second quarter — and other Web firms face a looming threat to their businesses. They aren’t talking about competitors such as Hulu, HBO Go and Amazon Prime — the threats outlined by Netflix said in its earnings report. Experts are pointing to broadband data caps.

Apple is in the early stages of examining Hulu LLC, a video-streaming pioneer that is being considered for sale by its owners.

Yahoo Inc. recently approached Hulu to discuss a possible acquisition of the popular online video service, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Hulu has been approached with an offer to buy the company. Right now it is unclear who the offer is from but CNBC’s Julia Boorstin tweets it is not from Google.

Hulu is close to renewing its deal for TV shows from its media-company owners in a move that would secure the future of the online video site but could delay Hulu's access to some shows for its free service.

Hulu's paid video service, Hulu Plus, will surpass one million subscribers in 2011, marking the first time the company has released stats about its premium service.

Hulu reportedly will introduce a subscription plan as soon as May 24, which would cost $10 per month for access to anything older than the last five episodes of popular TV shows, according to the Los Angeles Times.