Trailing Netflix and Amazon, Hulu seeks first original hit

Los Angeles

AFTER seven years online and two turns on the auction block, Hulu is looking for its first original hit.

The video-streaming service - owned by 21st Century Fox Inc, Walt Disney Co and Comcast Corp - offers an array of popular shows that first aired somewhere else. In the past year, it has gobbled up online rights to South Park, CSI, and TV's biggest new hit, Empire. Now Hulu's top executives are searching for an original show to define its brand, and to help the Hulu Plus paid service compete with big spenders Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc. Armed with some of the US$750 million supplied by its co-owners two years ago, Hulu was set to show off new series like Stephen King's 11/22/63 to advertisers on Wednesday in New York.