US online TV service adopts multiple advertising models

ad inventory during the test period, with advertisers including Cisco,
Intel, Royal Caribbean and Nissan.

Advertisers are also being offered the chance to sponsor the viewing of
a programme, should the user agree to watch a short trailer first.

For long-form content, users will see a sponsor card in the beginning
introducing the content and ads will appear during commercial
breaks.

Hulu, which features TV shows such as The Simpsons and films such as The
Usual Suspects, claims its service will be less intrusive than
traditional linear TV channels. A Hulu spokesman said: "The difference
between Hulu and broadcast, however, is that there will only be
approximately 25% of the ads that you would see on broadcast."

Hulu is expected to provide stiff competition for UK online TV services,
such as BBC iPlayer and the planned video-on-demand offering from the
BBC, ITV and Channel 4, codenamed Kangaroo.

The Hulu spokesman added: "Our intention is to make Hulu's growing
content line-up available worldwide. This requires clearing the rights
for each show or film in each specific geography and will take time."