Hulu with Live TV is expanding its channel lineup.
The Disney-owned virtual multichannel video provider (vMVPD) is adding 14 new channels over the next few weeks, including two well-established independent options: Hallmark Channel and The Weather Channel.
The addition of Hallmark comes in the midst of its popular annual holiday programming push Countdown to Christmas, which includes three original movies per week. The channel will join Hulu’s lineup Nov. 14, along with the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel, with the Hallmark Drama channel being available as an add-on.
Hallmark Channel is owned by the greeting giant card giant of the same name.
The Weather Channel, meanwhile, will join the lineup Nov. 1. Weather Channel is owned by Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, with another Allen-owned channel Comedy.tv also joining the lineup Nov. 1.
Then on Dec. 1, Hulu with Live TV will add 7 Vevo-branded music channels, as well as channels for Allen’s The Grio, JusticeCentral.tv, and Weather Channel en Espanol.
Like other vMVPDs, Hulu with Live TV includes live and on-demand content from broadcast and cable channels, including those from parent company Disney (ESPN, FX, ABC), as well as companies like Fox (Fox News), NBCUniversal (NBC, USA, Syfy), Paramount (CBS, Comedy Central, BET), and Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN, TNT, Food Network).
Hulu with Live TV now has 4.4 million subscribers, placing it second only to YouTube TV in the vMVPD space (YouTube TV has more than 5 million accounts, the company says). YouTube TV already has deals with The Weather Channel and Hallmark.
The deal with Hallmark also comes shortly after the company cut an exclusive streaming deal with Peacock. The deal with the NBCUniversal-owned service makes Peacock the exclusive SVOD home for the channel (as a vMVPD Hulu with Live TV is in a different category) and also includes a library of on-demand content.
“We have been listening to our subscribers and are thrilled to bring some of their most requested channels to our service just in time for the holidays,” said Reagan Feeney, senior vp of live TV content programming and partnerships for Hulu. “With these additions, Hulu + Live TV continues to be one of the most valuable live TV streaming destinations on the market, offering subscribers access to more than 85 live channels and entire on-demand content libraries from Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+.”