Video website Hulu is preparing to make its official launch on Wednesday (March 12th).The service was introduced for testing purposes last year and is now ready to make its content available to members of the public.
A joint venture between News Corp and NBC Universal, the website offers free, ad-supported programmes and sports events from a range of broadcasters, with Warner Bros Television Group and Lionsgate expected to be added to the line-up on Wednesday.
The site is also in discussions with Viacom and CBS to carry the companies' content, Reuters reports.
Users of the service can expect to find full-length episodes of shows including Babylon 5, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Simpsons and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Films on offer will include Requiem for a Dream, The Usual Suspects, The Big Lebowski and Mulholland Drive.
Hulu chief executive Jason Kilar has said that the website has seen more than five million visitors from a user test pool in the last four weeks alone, with 80 per cent of its content being viewed every week.
Thousands of websites also contain Hulu-provided video clips embedded into their pages, including AOL, MySpace, MSN, Yahoo! and Comcast, the New York Times reports.
"We won't stop until we have everything in terms of premium content. That is our mission," Mr Kilar told the newspaper.
"I just think back to the fact that 24 months ago, there wasn't anything online legally in terms of full TV episodes or films. In just 17 weeks, we have gone from nothing to over 200 premium titles."
