HULU CONFIRMS IT IS FOR SALE

Hulu has hired bankers Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners to sell the online video site. Hulu is jointly owned by News Corp's Fox, Disney's ABC and Comcast's NBC (although NBC has no voting power or a seat on the board). Hulu has stated it is on track to generate over $500 million in revenue this year, making it a quite attractive property.

Earlier this week it was rumored Yahoo was interested in Hulu and had tendered an initial offer. No news on if that offer was considered, but the board has not met to discuss any offers, so it is doubtful Yahoo's offer was sufficient.

Last year, Hulu and Morgan Stanley floated the notion of an IPO, which went nowhere because the company couldn’t secure long-term exclusive content licenses from its owners.

YAHOO TVs TO STREAM DISNEY, ABC, ESPN WIDGETS

If you own a Yahoo Connected TV you could soon be getting widgets to stream ESPN, ABC and Disney shows. These widgets will reportedly be free, however CBS, NBC, Showtime and Home Shopping Network widgets may be paid apps. Yahoo is expected launch a paid app store in Q1.

Yahoo Connected TV was launched a few years ago and has failed to take off like the set top box, Apple, Google and Boxee for example. Yahoo Connected currently has about 100 free apps in their download store.

NETFLIX SIGNS DISNEY-ABC DEAL

Netflix announced today that they have brokered a deal with Disney-ABC to add their content to the Netflix library. The deal should add a substantial number of new TV shows and Movies to instant watch. The episodes will be added rather quickly to instant watch only 15 days after initial telecast. Here is a list of the new additions to Netflix:

* Prior season episodes of current ABC hit series "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and, for the first time on Netflix, "Brothers & Sisters," all of which are among the network's most successful and popular TV franchises in recent years.
* Every episode of recent ABC favorites "Lost" and "Ugly Betty," the latter making its streaming debut at Netflix.
* Each season of several hit series from ABC Studios, including "Scrubs" and "Reaper," which are both new additions to Netflix.
* A host of content from the Disney Channel, including the hits "Phineas and Ferb" and "Good Luck Charlie," which are also new to Netflix; updated and expanded offerings of "The Suite Life on Deck" and "Wizards of Waverly Place;" and library offerings from the smash hits "Hannah Montana" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."
* A wide range of content from ABC Family, marking the introduction of ABC Family content streaming from Netflix. Included are the hit series "Greek," "Make It or Break It," "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and "Melissa & Joey."" [Slashdot]

BROADCAST NETWORKS BLOCK GOOGLE TV

ABC, NBC and CBS have blocked Google TV from accessing online content of their shows.  According to the Wall Street Journal all 3 networks have confirmed the ban and Fox hasn't reached a decision yet.  Google says "ultimately the content owners' choice to restrict their fans from accessing their content on the platform," but Reuters is now reporting the Google is in active negotiations with the networks to get access back.

Google TV can be found in select Sony televisions and also in a Logitech set-top box.  It allows users to view live television as well as the internet at the same time. [Engadget]

ABC HAS NEW iPAD APP FOR INTERACTIVE CONTENT

ABC has released a new app for the iPad, called My Generation, that uses technology from TV ratings service Nielsen.  The app uses the iPad's microphone to determine what you are watching, live or recorded, and offers interactive content on the fly.  Nielsen says My Generation uses the same audio watermark embedded into almost all US television programs.  So far My Generation has only been announced for a single show, but ABC will surely very quickly add more [Engadget] [My Generation app]

AMAZON STREAMING ABC AND FOX SHOWS

Not to be outdone by Apple, Amazon has launched a streaming service.  For just 99 cents you can purchase, YES..purchase, select ABC and Fox TV shows.  This is a much better deal than Apple's rental model.