Hulu Signs Deals with Disney, Fox for New Streaming TV Service

Video website Hulu on Tuesday announced deals to add programming from Twenty-first Century Fox and Walt Disney Co to a streaming TV service that it plans to offer in early 2017.

Disney and Fox, as well as Comcast Corp and Time Warner Inc, own stakes in Hulu.

Hulu's live and on-demand streaming video service will include Fox's entertainment, news, sports and non-fiction content, along with video from Disney's channels including ABC and ESPN, it said in a statement.

Time Warner said in August that it would pay $583 million to buy a 10 percent stake in Hulu and that its Turner networks, including TBS, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies, would be available on the new service.

"With these two new deals in place, and additional partners to come, Hulu will soon give TV fans of all ages live and on-demand access to their favorite programs in a whole new, more flexible, highly personalized way," Hulu Chief Executive Officer Mike Hopkins said in the company's statement.

Hulu's customers currently watch shows on demand for $8 per month with commercials or $12 without them. The company has beefed up its customer service staff and has been hiring executives from outside and within to slow subscriber defections ahead of the introduction of its live TV service. (Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)