Soon after Netflix announced that it wouldn’t renew its deal with Epix, Hulu and Epix said they had notched a multi-year digital subscription VOD pact that will stream in new releases from Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount starting October 1.
Hulu and Epix said all new theatrical releases and original programming will be available during its digital streaming window, which begins 90 days after the start of the traditional pay television window. EPIX has deals with a wide range of MVPDs, including Dish Network/Sling TV, AT&T U-verse, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Mediacom Communications, Verizon FiOS and Time Warner Cable, among others. The new Hulu-Epix deal also comes into play amid recent distribution deals between Hulu and MVPDs and ISPs, including AT&T, Cablevision Systems, Armstrong, Atlantic Broadband, Mediacom Communications, Midcontinent Communications and WideOpenWest (WOW!).
Hulu and Epix said the deal will provide Hulu with access in the coming months EPIX titles such as Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, Interstellar, Selma, Top Five and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
Epix and Hulu said the deal will provide Hulu with access in the coming months EPIX titles such as Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, Interstellar, Selma, Top Five and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. At launch, EPIX titles offered via Hulu will include Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek: Into Darkness, World War Z, Wolf of Wall Street, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Robocop, God’s Not Dead.
Update: All movies on Hulu are streamed without any commercial breaks, and Epix content will also stream uncut and commercial-free for Hulu subscribers, a Hulu official confirmed. As a premium network, all Epix content is delivered uncut, unedited and commercial free, an Epix official noted.
Hulu said the Epix agreement marks a "significant expansion" in its film offering, noting recent deals with from IFC Films that came way of a deal with AMC Networks, and a new bundling deal that ties in Showtime's new OTT offering.
Hulu is co-owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal, Walt Disney Co., and 21st Century Fox; Epix is a joint venture of Viacom, its Paramount Pictures division, Lionsgate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.
“Hulu already offers some of the best and biggest titles in television programming, but our subscribers have been asking us for more, and more recent, big movies. We listened,” said Craig Erwich, SVP, head of content at Hulu, in a statement. “ Through this new deal with EPIX, we are proud to now be able to offer a huge selection of the biggest blockbusters and premium films. This is a landmark deal for Hulu and it marks a huge expansion for our offering of premium programming.”
“Hulu has become one of the most popular premium streaming services and EPIX’s agreement is evidence of their understanding of the value that our blockbuster Hollywood films, deep library of classic film titles and original programming brings to consumers,” added Mark Greenberg, president and CEO of EPIX. “We are excited to be partnering with Hulu, and share their commitment to providing viewers a truly premium experience, particularly as we enter the next phase of our network’s growth and development.”
