Hulu To Get in the Business of Content Creation

A few weeks ago, Hulu acquired exclusive streaming rights for all the films in The Criterion Collection, sending cinephiles scurrying to squeeze from their wallets the extra $7.99/month for Hulu Plus.

The move put the digital distribution site into a position to viably compete against Netflix, and gave the world notice that they were going to be moving aggressively as a player in the burgeoning digital media distirbution market.

Now, Adweek is reporting that Hulu might just lead the way in online creation and distribution.

The new plan is to split focus, with one branch of the company handling popular brands (your "The Office" or "Family Guy") and the other developing original content, chiefly niche comedy and documentaries.

Meanwhile, a major integration with Facebook is close to being revealed, which would give Hulu near-constant exposure.

Last week, Lionsgate premiered "Trailer Trash" on Hulu, while Jack Bauer himself, Kiefer Sutherland, is planning to debut his latest action series, "The Confession," on the streaming network.

The idea of producing something exclusively for Internet consumption is slowly becoming a more acceptable, mainstream idea for American consumers, and is more or less following the path their respective mediums came to prominence historically.

YouTube made the distribution of simple short films open to anyone, and now the idea of doing an Internet radio show doesn't just sound like the province of some backwoods conspiracy nut. Many podcasts far outpace the typical show on terrestrial radio.

Once-ridiculed methods of reaching an audience are slowly becoming the way to reach an audience, and Hulu already has the infrastructure to make that happen for television.

And on a business level, it just makes sense. Hulu gets out from under its own shadow, becoming much much more than "that website where you can watch 'Family Guy' clips and the one funny sketch from last week's 'SNL'," and taking smart steps to ensure their future if the networks ultimately decide to pull their brand-name content.