Miramax signs deal with Hulu to stream titles

Both Hulu Plus subscribers and non-paying Hulu users will be able to stream Miramax titles online

Just two weeks after Miramax inked a multiyear deal with Netflix to allow customers to stream hundreds of the movie studio’s acclaimed titles online, Miramax is now expanding its digital reach by teaming up with Hulu in a multiyear contract that would allow Hulu Plus subscribers to stream Miramax films. Even better—for the first time ever, Miramax is also allowing Hulu to make select titles available to non-paying Hulu users.

Like Netflix subscribers, Hulu Plus subscribers will be able to access award-winning Miramax titles like “The Piano,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Shakespeare in Love,” “Reservoir Dogs,” and of course, the title that rocketed Miramax to the big time: “Spy Kids.” Users are free to stream the titles on several platforms, including PCs, tablets, TVs, and mobile phones.  

Unlike Netflix, Miramax is allowing Hulu to rotate approximately 15 different titles at a time for free viewing in the ad-supported Hulu format, which means non-paying Hulu visitors can stream Miramax titles for free as long as they’re willing to put up with commercial breaks, as they would if they watched the same titles on TV—and as they would if they were watching a TV show on Hulu.com.

Miramax joins a long and ever-growing list of Hulu movie partners, including MGM, IFC, Lionsgate, New Line Cinema, Paramount, Touchstone Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and more.

“The Miramax library includes some of the most popular and acclaimed films ever produced,” said Hulu CEO Jason Kilar in a statement. “It is an honor for the Hulu team to present our users a film roster that includes the likes of ‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘My Left Foot,’ ‘The English Patient,’ and many more."

Miramax made its first foray into the digital realm back in February when it made its titles available through iTunes, Amazon’s Video on Demand, and BestBuy’s CinemaNow, but—surprisingly—not Netflix. The studio announced that it would be partnering with Lionsgate to distribute 550 titles via DVD and Blu-Ray sales, as well as online sales and rentals, but the deal did not include licensing rights for cable or online subscription services—such as Netflix or Hulu Plus.

But while Miramax was nursing its cold feet, Netflix was enjoying streaming rights from Fox and Universal, both of which inked deals with Netflix in April 2010—with the caveat that titles would only become available for digital streaming via Netflix a full 28 days after release on DVD so that the studios can reap as much as possible from DVD sales before the titles are made available online.

It looks like Miramax has since decided to join the rest of the modern world online—a move it won’t regret.