Is Mobile Next For Hulu?

Hulu's deal with Disney, in which Disney bought a 30 percent stake in Hulu, adds a powerhouse to the online video site's already formidable content lineup -- so where does Hulu go from here? It may go mobile.

Forget that Hulu has no deal with CBS, the only major network abstaining from a partnership so far. To boost revenue, the site needs to boost impressions, and one way to do that is to increase users. So Hulu's game plan can't just center around PCs in the home -- it's got to start thinking about going everywhere.

The ability to convert video to watch it on a portable device has been around for a while. For example, the Videora iPod Converter is a free iPod video converter that converts video files, YouTube videos, movies and DVDs so you can play them on your iPod. But Hulu functions like a television set and does not permit downloading of the content.

In the future, will Hulu offer or partner with a company such as Apple (whose founder Steve Jobs has been on Disney's board of directors since 2006) to offer television shows on the go?

"Certainly, mobile Hulu is an interesting idea. But I'm not in the camp thinking that Apple necessarily wants or needs to buy into that value proposition. Hulu is free to create an iPhone application for its service with or without Apple, so it's not clear they need to buy into the idea," said Carl Howe, director for Yankee Group's Anywhere Consumer research group.

However, Apple would need to approve the app if it was to be offered at the App Store. Many of those apps are available at no charge, so, could Apple and Hulu work together to provide free content, with Apple taking a piece of any advertising action Hulu may collect?

"Apple's model is that they sell or rent media. They aren't really into distributing via ad-supported models, so I think there would be a significant culture clash if they were to do some sort of joint venture," Howe said. "I do think you may see a Hulu iPhone app that does deliver a mobile Hulu experience, but I think if that's the case, you'll also see Hulu apps for Blackberrys, Google Androids and other big-screen media phones."