Hulu marks its first anniversary, goes social

A year ago, I eyed Hulu and its ad-supported TV shows and movies with skepticism. But now, there's no denying that the free video-streaming service is a hit—both with viewers and advertisers. Also: Hulu celebrates its first birthday with new "Friends" feature.

I have to say, it's hard to believe that Hulu has only been around for a year—indeed, the site has become such a popular touchstone that it's hard to imagine online video without it.

But back when the NBC- and Fox-backed Hulu went into open beta—March 12, 2008, to be exact—its success or failure was very much an open question. At launch, Hulu had only about 250 TV episodes online, plus about a hundred movies and a few HD movie trailers.

In my initial post, I complained a bit about image quality ("the standard TV and movie streams look OK, if not great), and I groused about the non-skippable ads: ("I would rather pay a couple bucks for a commercial-free TV episodes … [but] it sounds like free, ad-supported TV and movies may well be the wave of the future. Guess we'd better get used to idea.")

Well, turns out I was the one who was behind the times. Viewers loved the fact that they could watch their favorite shows for free, on-demand and on the Web, and watching the occasional ad or two (usually just one 30-second commercial per break) didn't dampen their (or your, based on all your positive comments) enthusiasm. Also, video quality has improved dramatically in the past several months, with a 480p mode now available plus a handful of HD episodes. Last but not least, the site now boasts more than 1,150 TV episodes and 550 movies, and counting.

As CNN Money notes, analysts believe Hulu turned a tidy $12-million profit last year, and Hulu now counts itself as the sixth most popular online video site in the U.S.—no mean feat, considering that Hulu's been up and running for a mere 12 months.

Meanwhile, Hulu has managed to scare up a slew of competitors, not to mention controversy.

For example, CBS just re-launched TV.com, and we also just saw the debut of ZillionTV, a set-top box that promises to add a key missing feature to the Web-only Hulu model: the ability to watch free, on-demand shows in the living room.

There's also the case of upstart Boxee, which has been locked in a back-and-forth battle with Hulu over a plug-in that delivers Hulu's video streams to a custom software player and the Apple TV set-top box. Hulu initially turned a blind eye toward Boxee, but then announced it would block the service after its "content providers" objected.

Controversy or not, there's no question that Hulu is here to stay, and the service is hoping that subscribers start getting more social with their viewing habits.

Launching today is "Friends," a new social networking feature that lets you connect with Facebook, MySpace, Gmail, Yahoo!, and Hotmail pals, share your viewing history, suggest favorite TV shows and movies, and more. (PCMag.com has more details.)

So, how many of you watch Hulu, and how often? Do you mind the ads? Wish you could watch Hulu on your TV?