• USA Today, Wednesday, February 3, 2010 11:28 PM

Less than two years ago, Hulu.com launched a novel online strategy: showing full TV shows and movies. And it worked. In December people watched more than 1 billion videos on the service -- its best showing ever, according to new data from ComScore Media Metrix.

Hulu CEO Jason Kilar said a version of Hulu will always be free, but the company was exploring premium pricing, though he wouldn't give a time frame. Owned by News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox, Disney's ABC and General Electric's NBC Universal, Hulu has more than 220 content partners, including A&E and PBS and the National Football League. It also has 400 advertising sponsors. Forrester Research believes Hulu will eventually settle on two pricing tiers: $4.99 for an ad-free Hulu or $14.99 monthly for complete seasons of shows and back catalog.

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