US video-viewing website Hulu prepares for IPO

　Hulu, the rapidly growing hub for online television and movies, is planning an initial public offering that could value the firm at more than $2 billion, the New York Times reported.

　　The company, which streams popular shows such as "Glee" and "Modern Family," is in talks with investment banks to go public as soon as this fall, people briefed on the matter told the newspaper.

　　General Electric affiliate NBC Universal owns a third of Hulu.com, the most popular US website for viewing television shows. Hulu also is owned by News Corp and Walt Disney.

　　The company, which competes with Google Inc's YouTube, reported revenue of about $100 million last year and was on track to repeat the same by the middle of this year, the Times said.

　　Last month, Hulu introduced a new paid subscription service for watching TV shows and movies on mobile devices, game consoles, television sets and computers, with an aim to strike a balance between paid and ad-supported models.

Source: Global Times