New York - Hulu, the advertising-supported online video joint venture between NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), has begun "politely" asking viewers watching TV shows and other content on the site to disable ad-blocking software, Silicon Alley Insider reports. The in-stream notices state that, "This program is brought to you by Hulu's advertising partners," while below in smaller print add that, "If you see this message repeatedly, you may need to disable your ad blocking software." The video then resumes playing after 30 seconds.

It is coming up on 2 years post my declaration that only a moron would buy Youtube and that Google was crazy for actually going through with it. In that period of time, while Youtube traffic has skyrocketed, they have been steadfast in their admission that they haven't been able to monetize Youtube's traffic in a profitable manner. Youtube has become the poster child for the old saying "we are losing money on every sale, but we will make it up in volume".

Hulu.com., the joint venture between Fox and NBC that provides streaming video content online, announced a deal this week that The Colbert Report and The Daily Show are now available through the site. Hulu.com came out of beta on March 15 and has seen a steady share of US Internet traffic since, as illustrated in the following chart.

Los Angeles - With a $1 billion copyright lawsuit against YouTube (NASD: GOOG) still pending, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has struck a deal to offer two of its Comedy Central network's most popular programs for free streaming on Hulu, the advertising-supported video service joint venture between News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE).

Los Angeles - Independent production studio Attention Span Media (ASM) said on Monday that it has signed a deal to distribute several of its programs via Hulu, the online video distribution joint venture between News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE). The deal -- one of the first between Hulu and an independent studio -- includes ASM's "Dorm Life" and "SockTube Presents."

New York - Hulu, the Web video joint venture between NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), announced on Wednesday that it has signed seven new website distribution partners for its mix of ad-supported TV and film content. Hulu will now also be available via TV.com, TVGuide.com, BuddyTV.com, Flixster.com, MyYearbook.com, Break.com and Zap2it.com. According to Nielsen data, Hulu served 63.2 million videos across its distribution points in April, besting nearest network rival ABC.com, which served 60.8 million videos.

Las Vegas - Traffic at Hulu, the video site joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp., has tripled in the past 24 months, and surpassed its goals during its first month of public availability, according to comments from Hulu CEO Jason Kilar made at the NAB convention in Las Vegas, TVWeek.com reports. Kilar added that the library of content available through Hulu has quadrupled over the past four months.

New York - CBS (NYSE: CBS) has launched a test of high-definition streaming on its website, offering some clips in H.265/AVC format at 480p resolution through an HD player, TechCrunch reported. The company plans to offer 720p and 1080p as well. Hulu, the joint venture video service from News Corp. and NBC Universal, is also experimenting with HD streaming, and currently offers 360p, 480p and 720p -- although the latter is delivered through progressive download rather than streaming, due to bandwidth constraints.

New York - Hulu, the online video joint venture between NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), will officially launch on Wednesday, ending 18 weeks of an invitation-only beta test. In addition to content from NBC, Universal and Fox, the company has announced new content partnerships with Warner Bros. Television Group, Lionsgate, and sports leagues NBA, NHL and NCAA.

New York - NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) has announced plans to begin streaming episodes of vintage TV shows on its websites, including "A-Team," "Miami Vice," "Battlestar Galactica," "Simon & Simon" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour." The shows will be offered both through distributors of Hulu, the company's online video joint venture with News Corp., and on NBC Universal-owned sites including NBC.com, SCIFI.com, ChillerTV.com and SleuthChannel.com.

Los Angeles - Hulu, the online video distribution joint venture between NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), has begun to add HD videos to its offering, shortly following the release of Adobe's new Flash Player that supports HD streaming. The Hulu HD Gallery currently features a small selection of movie trailers in 1280 x 720 resolution, which require a 2.5 Mbps Internet connection or greater, in addition to other general system requirements for Windows, Mac and Linux users.

Los Angeles - NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) is shutting down its DotComedy website, which has seen traffic plunge 30% in the last three months, after just over a year in business, Variety reported.

Los Angeles - News Corp. and NBC Universal on Monday announced a private beta launch of Hulu, their video distribution joint venture that offers streaming programming on a free, ad-supported basis.

New York - NBC Universal has announced plans to offer many of its TV shows for free download to PCs for a week following their initial broadcasts.