‘Doctor Who,’ other BBC shows added to Hulu Plus
Basil Fawlty is coming to Hulu.
The online digital platform has has acquired streaming rights to popular BBC programs, including “Doctor Who,” “Top Gear,” and comedy classics such as “Fawlty Towers.”
On Wednesday, BBC Worldwide North America and Hulu said they had entered into a non-exclusive, multiyear pact that will add titles from the BBC Worldwide library to Hulu’s monthly subscription service, Hulu Plus, in the U.S.
Hulu said it would make the “Doctor Who” series, and its spinoffs including “Torchwood,” immediately available.
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Later this fall, “Top Gear,” “Sherlock,” “MI-5,” and “Luther” will pop up on the Hulu Plus service. Comedies such as “Fawlty Towers,” “Twenty Twelve,” and “Blackadder” were included in the deal along with BBC science fiction and natural history titles.
Eventually, more than 2,000 episodes of BBC Worldwide titles will be made available on Hulu Plus, the companies said. Financial details were not disclosed.
BBC Worldwide previously negotiated an arrangement with competing streaming service Netflix, which offers six seasons of “Doctor Who” in the U.S.
Internet streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.com, have been scurrying to lock up digital rights to popular programming to help drive their subscription sales.
Hulu is owned by media companies 21st Century Fox, Walt Disney Co. and Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal.
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