Hulu Plus Launching on Nintendo Wii U with Integrated Second Screen Experience
At Hulu's development center in Seattle, we spend our time focusing on making the Hulu Plus living room experience delightful for our subscribers. With our latest innovation, we've teamed up with Nintendo …
Context & Ripple Effects
Hulu Plus had already been extending beyond the web through Samsung TVs, iPhones and iPads, while Nintendo had established the Wii as a streaming endpoint with Netflix support. The Wii U integration puts Hulu’s subscription service into that console-accessible viewing pattern while using Nintendo’s distinctive controller as part of playback.
First-order effects
- Hulu Plus subscribers on Wii U gain a living-room client designed to pair television viewing with the console’s second screen.
- Nintendo adds Hulu Plus to the Wii U’s entertainment proposition, giving the GamePad a role beyond game control.
Second-order effects
- Hulu must adapt its living-room interface and playback experience to Nintendo’s dual-screen design rather than treating the console as a standard TV app endpoint.
- Netflix’s earlier presence on Wii established streaming as a console feature; Hulu Plus raises the value of service selection and interface design in Nintendo’s entertainment offering.
Third-order effects
- If console makers continue to secure subscription-video apps, game hardware increasingly competes for living-room time through media services as well as exclusive games.
- Second-screen integrations point toward a more differentiated class of TV streaming clients, where the companion device can shape discovery and control rather than merely mirror playback.
The trend: Subscription video is spreading across connected devices, with console-specific interfaces becoming a way for platforms to distinguish otherwise similar streaming catalogs.