Hulu Japan

Last updated
Hulu
Hulu Japan green logo.svg
Type of business Subsidiary
Type of site
 OTT streaming platform
Available inJapanese
Headquarters Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato, Tokyo,
Japan
Area servedJapan
Owner Nippon Television Network Corporation (70%)
Key peopleKazuo Takaya (president)
Parent HJ Holdings, Inc.
URL www.hulu.jp
Advertising Yes
RegistrationRequired
Users Increase2.svg 2.8 million (as of 5 October 2021) [1]
LaunchedSeptember 1, 2011;14 years ago (2011-09-01)
Current statusActive

Hulu [a] in Japan is a subscription streaming service owned and operated by HJ Holdings, a subsidiary of Nippon Television Network Corporation. It was launched on September 1, 2011 as the Japanese version of Hulu, the U.S. video-on-demand joint venture of The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, and NBCUniversal. On February 27, 2014, Hulu's Japanese operations were acquired by Nippon Television and spun off to become a distinct entity. [2]

Contents

The platform offers a library of television series from Nippon TV and other major domestic broadcasters as well as original programming, international films, and foreign seriese. Over the years, Hulu Japan has expanded its offerings beyond traditional video streaming; in October 2025, it launched an integrated e-comic service, allowing users to purchase and read digital manga directly within its app and website.

By March 2015, Hulu subscription's numbers had risen to 1 million memberships. [3] As of October 5,2021, Hulu Japan has a total of 2.8 million subscribers. [1] As of 2022, the service was also the sixth highest-grossing subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service in Japan. [4]

History

Founding and establishment

On September 1, 2011, Hulu, a video distribution service operating in the United States, launched its first overseas expansion in Japan. The business in Japan was to be conducted by Hulu Japan GK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hulu. [5] The company signed content distribution agreements with CBS, NBC, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and The Walt Disney Company. Users were charged a monthly fee of 1,480 yen, and unlike in the U.S., no free service was offered. [6] [7] [8]

In January 2012, Hulu Japan began streaming films owned by Toho, a distribution company primarily responsible for the release of Universal films in Japan. [9] The following month, Hulu Japan announced that it had signed contracts to distribute content from Japanese film distributors Asmik Ace Entertainment, Kadokawa Shoten, Shochiku, Toei, Nikkatsu, and AMG Entertainment to distribute their content. [10]

The fee was reduced to 980 yen in April 2012. [11] The number of users of the service exceeded 1.85 million as of March, seven months after its launch. [12] In November 2013, Hulu Japan announced a partnership with TBS Television to distribute over 3,000 episodes of TBS content. At the time, the service delivered approximately 14,000 titles. [13]

Acquisition by Nippon TV

On February 27, 2014, Nippon Television Network Corporation acquired Hulu's Japanese business from Hulu, LLC for an undisclosed amount; the new company, HJ Holdings GK, established by Hulu, LLC through a corporate separation, would become a subsidiary of Nippon TV. [14] [15] [16] The service would continue to license and retain the "Hulu" brand and technology in Japan under a subsidiary of Nippon as part of a separate agreement. [17] After the acquisition of the service Hulu Japan's Vice Chairman Masafumi Funakoshi would state that he was aiming for the service to reach ¥150 billion in revenue by 2020. [18] Even after the acquisition by Nippon TV, Hulu Japan continued to distribute programming from NHK, TBS Television, Fuji Television, and TV Tokyo on its platform with Fuji Television content being part of a sharing agreement. [19] [20]

On May 29, 2015, Hulu Japan and Fuji Television entered into a reciprocal content-sharing agreement. Through this partnership, Hulu Japan acquired streaming rights to 20 anime series originally broadcast on Fuji TV's Noitamina block, including Psycho-Pass , Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day , Library War , and Nodame Cantabile . In exchange, Hulu provided Fuji TV's streaming service, Fuji TV On Demand, with a selection of its foreign television series. This agreement marked a significant milestone for Hulu Japan. Having progressively integrated domestic television programming into its catalog since April 2012, the addition of Fuji TV's content allowed the platform to successfully aggregate programming from all six major Tokyo-based broadcasting networks. [21] [22]

In June 2015, Hulu Japan released its first original drama series, The Last Cop , a remake of the German drama series Der letzte Bulle . [23] In October, a sequel drama series was co-produced with Nippon TV and broadcast on Nippon TV. [24] A sequel was released in theaters on May 3, 2017, as Last Cop The Movie and grossed 400 million yen at the box office. [25]

On February 16, 2016, Hulu Japan announced that it had signed an exclusive contract with the American cable channel HBO for a subscription video on demand (SVOD) service in Japan. [26]

On May 8, 2017, Nippon TV announced a revamp of the Hulu Japan streaming service. The update was necessary because, despite the acquisition, Hulu Japan still shared its distribution system with the U.S. service, preventing Japan-specific modifications. [27] Additionally, the service's domain was changed from "hulu.jp" to "happyon.jp", though it later reverted to "hulu.jp" in 2019. This temporary change was intended to mitigate risks during the system migration and ensure uninterrupted service. [28] However, the sudden URL change caused user concern regarding a potential rebranding or drastic alteration of the service. [27]

The revamp took place on May 17, 2017, but the service experienced disruptions for several days. Furthermore, unannounced changes to copyright protection protocols prevented some users with externally connected displays from viewing content. [27] In response, Hulu offered affected users a choice between a one-month free pass, a ¥1,000 Amazon gift certificate, or a ¥1,000 iTunes code. The incident led to the platform's first decline in users since its acquisition by Nippon TV. [29] [30]

In July 2017, Hulu Japan conducted a third-party allotment of shares with Hulu, LLC, Yahoo! Japan, Toho, Yomiuri TV, and Chukyo TV as subscribers of the service with the purpose being to strengthen the management foundation and enable the production and procurement of more attractive content and significantly improve promotional capabilities. [31]

Hulu Japan launched its TVOD service, Hulu Store, on June 10, 2020. The store being available for SVOD members. [32] In June 2022, Hulu Japan introduced a new feature called "Points" which would allow users to rent or purchase videos from the Hulu Store on the Hulu app for Android and iOS devices with that feature enabling users to make one-time purchases of content within the app. [33]

On July 12, 2023, Nippon TV and The Walt Disney Company announced and launched the first-ever bundled plan between Hulu Japan and Disney+ called "Hulu | Disney+ Set Plan". The new plan offers a monthly subscription price of 1,490 yen, which represented a savings of approximately 26% compared to subscribing to them separately. [34] [35]

On October 15, 2025, Hulu Japan launched an integrated e-comic service within its streaming app and website. The feature allows users to purchase and read digital manga using their existing Hulu accounts. HJ Holdings introduced the service to complement the platform's video catalog, providing users with direct access to the original source material for anime and live-action adaptations available on Hulu, such as ''My Hero Academia'', ''Case Closed'' (Detective Conan), and ''Chihayafuru''. Additionally, the platform integrated e-comic purchases into its existing point-based payment system, which is also used for video rentals and live broadcasts.

On October 15, 2025, Hulu Japan launched an integrated e-comic service within its streaming app and website. The feature allows users to purchase and read digital manga using their existing Hulu accounts. HJ Holdings introduced the service to complement the platform's video catalog, providing users with direct access to the original source material for anime and live-action adaptations available on Hulu, such as My Hero Academia , Case Closed (Detective Conan), and Chihayafuru . Additionally, the platform integrated e-comic purchases into its existing point-based payment system, which is also used for video rentals and live broadcasts. [36]

Contents

Programming

The distributors who license content to Hulu Japan include major broadcasters such as NHK, TBS Television, Fuji Television, TV Asahi, and TV Tokyo, among others.

In addition, Hulu Japan features original programming supplied by its parent company, Nippon Television, which is exclusively available through the service.

Sports

Hulu Japan streams Japan Rugby League One events, B.League basketball, Yomiuri Giants baseball (owned by Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, which also owns Nippon Television), and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) events. (The AJPW footage covers the period from 1972 until 1999, with the rights held by Nippon Television.)

Starting from August 2022, Hulu Japan signed a multi-year domestic distribution partnership agreement with Eredivisie to broadcast games from the 2022–23 season onwards, primarily focusing on AFC Ajax and AZ Alkmaar games. [37]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ In Katakana, it is spelled フールー (Fūru).

References

  1. 1 2 Brzeski, Patrick (2021-10-05). "Amazon Leads Netflix, Disney+ in Japan's Expanding Streaming Market, Study Shows". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  2. ↑ "Nippon TV Acquires Hulu Service in Japan". www.businesswire.com. 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  3. ↑ "2018年度決算説明資料" (PDF). Nippon TV. May 23, 2019. p. 28. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Ｕ—ＮＥＸＴ ２位浮上 動画配信 昨年シェア ネトフリ ４年連続首位" [U-NEXT rose to No.2 in video distribution market share last year Netflix topped the list for 4 consecutive years]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). March 27, 2023. p. 7.
  5. ↑ "アメリカで話題のHuluが日本でサービスを開始". September 1, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Hulu Launches Subscription Service in Japan". www.businesswire.com. 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  7. ↑ "Sale Pending, Hulu Launches in Japan". Reuters (in Japanese). 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  8. ↑ "「Hulu」の"日本版サービスにしかない魅力"とは ー フールージャパンのキーパーソンに聞く (1/3)". PHILE WEB (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  9. ↑ 株式会社インプレス (2012-01-20). "Hulu、ターミネーター3など東宝東和の映画を配信". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  10. ↑ 株式会社インプレス (2012-02-01). "映画見放題の「Hulu」、角川や松竹など配給会社6社と提携、日本映画を拡充". INTERNET Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  11. ↑ "Google workers in Japan have joined a labor union in response to planned layoffs". Engadget. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  12. ↑ 株式会社インプレス (2012-04-26). "Huluに月間185万人が訪問、課題は「認知度の低さ」". INTERNET Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  13. ↑ "Huluが日本国内コンテンツをさらに強化！ TBS過去の名作ドラマも観られるようになるぞ ｜ ガジェット通信 GetNews". ガジェット通信 GetNews (in Japanese). 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  14. ↑ "Huluの日本市場向け事業を承継し定額制動画配信に参入～Huluの作品ラインアップも大幅強化～" [Nippon TV to acquire the Japanese division of Hulu, alongside a major content revamp]. Nippon TV Corporate Site (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  15. ↑ Spangler, Todd (27 February 2014). "Hulu Japan to Be Acquired by Nippon TV". Variety . Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Hopkins, Mike (27 February 2014). "An International Update From Hulu in Japan". Hulu. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Hulu sells its 'Hulu Japan' service to Nippon TV". VentureBeat. 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2023-03-15.[ dead link ]
  18. ↑ "動画配信：新サービス 日テレ、「月１００７円で見放題」開始 フジ、Ｆ１などＣＳ放送と同時中継" [Video distribution: New service Nittele started "All-you-can-watch for 1007 yen/month" Fuji, F1, and other CS broadcasts simultaneously]. Mainichi Shimbun . April 11, 2014. p. 5.
  19. ↑ "Ｈｕｌｕとフジ、互いに動画供給 提携、ＮＨＫ・在京キー局すべてに" [Hulu and Fuji to supply video to each other, NHK and all Tokyo key stations.]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). May 30, 2015. p. 10.
  20. ↑ "日テレが取得のHulu「NHK・TBS・テレ東の番組配信は続ける」". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  21. ↑ "動画配信サービス・フジテレビオンデマンドとHuluが動画コンテンツを相互に提供". アニメハック (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  22. ↑ "フジテレビとHulu、動画配信事業において相互コンテンツ提供を開始". MarkeZine (in Japanese). 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  23. ↑ Filmstarts (22 April 2015). ""Der letzte Bulle": Hulu Japan produziert Remake der erfolgreichen deutschen TV-Serie mit Henning Baum". FILMSTARTS.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  24. ↑ "唐沢寿明×窪田正孝「ラストコップ」が帰ってくる！ 10月期の新ドラマへ". cinemacafe.net (in Japanese). 2 August 2016. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  25. ↑ "唐沢寿明ショック…GW映画「ラストコップ」大コケの理由｜日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL". 日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  26. ↑ "ＨｕｌｕがＨＢＯと独占契約" [Hulu Signs Exclusive Deal with HBO]. Yomiuri Shimbun . February 18, 2016. p. 37.
  27. 1 2 3 日本経済新聞社・日経BP社 (26 July 2017). "Huluになにが起きたか トラブルで露呈した未成熟さ｜MONO TRENDY｜NIKKEI STYLE". NIKKEI STYLE (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  28. ↑ "日本のHuluが「happyon.jp」にURL変更 なぜ？". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  29. ↑ 株式会社インプレス (2017-05-18). "Hulu、'17年3月末加入者は155万1,595人。17日リニューアル". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  30. ↑ "１０００円返金でも怒りが収まらないHuluトラブルの怪 | ネットから読み解く経済・社会 | まつもとあつし". 毎日新聞「経済プレミア」 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  31. ↑ 株式会社インプレス (2017-07-26). "Huluにヤフー、東宝、讀賣・中京テレビらが出資。コンテンツ制作・調達を強化". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  32. ↑ "Hulu、映像作品の単体レンタル・販売へ 「Huluストア」スタート（要約）". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  33. ↑ 株式会社インプレス (2022-06-29). "Huluストアに「ポイント」。アプリ上で購入が可能に". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  34. ↑ "HJホールディングス、「Hulu」と「ディズニープラス」のセットプランを提供開始" [HJ Holdings launches "Hulu" and "Disney Plus" set plan.]. 日経速報ニュース (in Japanese). Nikkei, Inc. July 12, 2023.
  35. ↑ Brzeski, Patrick (July 11, 2023). "Disney+ Launches Streaming Bundle With Hulu Japan". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Hulu、電子コミックサービスを10月15日からスタート | マイナビニュース". news.mynavi.jp (in Japanese). 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  37. ↑ "『Hulu』がエールディヴィジの独占配信を発表！ 菅原所属AZや盟主アヤックスを中心に44試合". goal.com (in Japanese). Goal . Retrieved 2022-08-05.
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