Fox Entertainment and Hulu have struck a new multi-year streaming partnership, through which new episodes from Fox’s primetime shows will continue to stream on Hulu the day after they premiere on linear. The agreement also includes a multi-platform “strategic marketing alliance,” the companies announced this week.
Hulu’s next-day streaming agreement encompasses Fox’s entire primetime programming slate, including “Family Guy,” “The Simpsons,” “The Masked Singer,” “Next Level Chef,” among others. The renewal comes one year after Fox and Hulu inked an output deal allowing Hulu to stream out-of-season episodes from Fox’s unscripted shows.
As for the marketing aspect, Fox will use joint Hulu and Fox branding when promoting content across all its networks and platforms as well as on Hulu. This effort, according to Fox, will “align live and on-demand viewing messaging of Fox content.”
Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment, stated the new deal will bolster Fox’s longer-term streaming strategy “while harnessing the power and strength of both Hulu and Fox to better serve our audiences and bring visibility to premium content” across both linear and streaming.
The distribution deal is also important because Fox doesn’t have its own subscription-based, direct-to-consumer streaming service. Cord-cutters typically have to go through virtual MVPDs to watch Fox primetime programming. Whereas cable content from Fox News is available to stream on Fox Nation, which landed on the FuboTV app last summer.
As for Hulu, it gets to keep Fox programming after losing next-day streaming rights for several NBC and Bravo shows last fall. Those shows, including “The Real Housewives” series, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “America’s Got Talent,” have since migrated to NBCUniversal’s Peacock service.
In a statement, Hulu President Joe Earley touted the streamer is “the only SVOD service to carry next-day series from multiple broadcast networks.” Aside from Fox, Hulu streams new episodes of shows airing on ABC, CBS, FX and NBC.
“Fox has always been a great partner, but now Rob and his teams are leveling-up our relationship with their new marketing commitments, helping viewers understand where they can watch all of these shows,” Earley added.
Not all seasons of Fox’s primetime shows are fully available on Hulu. For instance, the service only carries the newest season of “The Simpsons, while Disney+ has the streaming rights for the entire series.
But Hulu scored another content win in October, when it added all six seasons of the sitcom “Schitt’s Creek,” which had previously been on Netflix since 2017. Hulu last year also inked a theatrical output deal with Roadside Attraction as well as enhanced its live TV lineup with The Weather Channel, Hallmark and Vevo.