Hulu set to launch tomorrow

The ad-supported streaming video site, and product of a partnership between NBC Universal and Fox, is opening its doors to the general public tomorrow after approximately five months in private beta.

For the first time, users will be able to freely stream Hulu's Flash-based, ad-supported TV and movie content. Many had actually expected the site to go live today, and several sources simply reported that it already had.

Content comes from over 50 partners including Sony Pictures Television, MGM, NBC Universal, Fox, Warner Brothers Television, and Lionsgate. Still absent from the lineup is CBS, which instead hosts full episodes of its programs on its own site. ABC also offers streams of some of its shows, including content in HD.

Hulu will continue to remain off limits to users outside of the US, largely due to foreign rebroadcasting rights which traditionally take a long time to get approved. For example, a recent study cited in The Register stated that it takes an additional 16.7 months on average for an American television program to make it to Australian television. Given the volume of content Hulu has claimed to have at its disposal, it looks like the wait could be a while.