Hulu is teaming up with CBS to add three of the network's channels to its upcoming live TV streaming service.
The service will cost under $40 a month, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins said at a conference Wednesday, but he did not give a specific price. That will include Hulu's library of on-demand videos as well.
Hulu said the live-streaming service will launch in the coming months, but did not give a date.
The CBS deal will give Hulu the right to live-stream the nation's most-watched broadcast network as well as CBS Sports Network and cable channel Pop.
Hulu said that more CBS Corp. channels may be added later. Some shows can also be watched on demand after they have aired.
The streaming company already has similar deals with Time Warner Inc., 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Co., allowing it to live-stream CNN, Fox, ESPN and several other channels. CBS had been a holdout, focusing instead on its CBS All Access subscription service.
While Hulu started as a free site, supported by advertising. But free video has become increasingly more difficult to find as it tries to lure viewers into a subscription – $8 a month for a plan with ads, and $12 without.
In recent months, visitors to Hulu.com have been presented with prominent links to subscribe, with links to free video buried in a menu after signing in.
Hulu is owned by Disney, Comcast, Time Warner and 21st Century Fox.
Civil rights groups call on major corporations to stick with DEI programs
A broad group of civil rights organizations called on the CEOs and board members of major companies Thursday to maintain their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under attack online and in lawsuits.
An open letter signed by 19 organizations and directed at the leaders of Fortune 1000 companies said companies that abandon their DEI programs are shirking their fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers and shareholders.
The civil rights groups included the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, policies, and practices make business-sense and they're broadly popular among the public, consumers, and employees," their statement read. "But a small, well-funded, and extreme group of right-wing activists is attempting to pressure companies into abandoning their DEI programs."
Companies such as Ford, Lowes, John Deere, Molson Coors and Harley-Davidson recently announced they would pull back on their diversity, equity and inclusion policies after facing pressure from conservative activists who were emboldened by recent victories in the courtroom.
Many major corporations have been examining their diversity programs in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last year that declared race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions unconstitutional. Dozens of cases have been filed making similar arguments about employers. Critics of DEI programs say the initiatives provide benefits to people of one race or sexual orientation while excluding others.
In their letter, the civil rights organizations, which also included... Read More