Hulu Chief Executive Jason Kilar is to leave the online video
service in the first quarter, he disclosed Friday in a blog
post.
Hulu is owned by several big entertainment companies, including
Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Comcast Corp (CMCSA, CMCSK). and News Corp.
(NWSA, NWS.AU), which also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of
this newswire and The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Kilar's departure comes amid an intense debate between some
of the partners about Hulu's future strategy, including whether it
should be an ad-supported free service or primarily a
subscription-based service.
Mr. Kilar has also been pressing the owners to invest more in
Hulu to allow it to expand. The Journal reported last month that he
had asked the site's owners to invest about $200 million to fund
more programming development. Hulu is competing with services such
as Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) Prime Instant
Video, which are investing heavily in programming.
The decision to leave comes five years after the company was
founded. Mr. Kilar's departure had been long rumored. He gave no
details in his blog post about the reasons for his departure.
"'I've been so fortunate to play a role in this amazing, ongoing
journey," he said in the memo, adding that he would work with the
board on his transition.
Write to Christopher S. Stewart at
christopher.stewart@wsj.com
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