Hulu says subscribers soar to 17M

Hulu LLC, the streaming-video provider that’s home to the award-winning series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” said subscribers soared to more than 17 million last year, buoyed by an expanded streaming library and a new live, cable-like service.

Advertising revenue at the service, which is owned by four major media companies and is offered only in the U.S., reached $1 billion for the first time, the company said today in a statement. On Sunday, “The Handmaid’s Tale” won the Golden Globe award for best TV drama, with series star Elisabeth Moss also grabbing the award for best actress.

Hulu was originally started as an online service for viewers who wanted to catch up on broadcast-television and cable shows they missed. But it’s been evolving into a more vigorous online competitor to industry leader Netflix Inc. with a growing library, original programs and now a multichannel service, offering on-demand and live TV at prices ranging from $6 to $40 a month. Netflix had more than 109 million customers worldwide, including 52.8 million in the U.S., at the end of September.

Hulu, based in Santa Monica, California, said it added 5 million subscribers since previously reporting its viewer totals in May 2016, a gain of about 42 percent, and that unique viewers reached 54 million, since subscribers often share an account across a household. Netflix, which is scheduled to report end-of-year results on Jan. 22, added 5.6 million U.S. subscribers between June 2016 and September 2017.

Hulu is owned by Walt Disney Co., Comcast Corp., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Time Warner Inc. The company said its library of TV episodes expanded to more than 75,000 in 2017, spanning 1,700 different titles.