Hot on the heels of Empire’s giant finale on Wednesday night, subscription video on demand service Hulu announced the show would only be available to streamers via its service.

“Today, Hulu is very proud to announce that we are investing in Empire’s IPO, and we think it’s gonna be huge. Take that, Boo Boo Kitty,” wrote Lisa Holme, Hulu’s VP, content acquisition, on Hulu’s blog.

Hulu — which is partially owned by 21st Century Fox Television, corporate parent of the company that produces Empire — is currently streaming every episode of season one, and offers the five most recent episodes for free. That includes Wednesday night’s finale, which drew 16.5 million viewers. #EmpireFinale was a trending topic on Twitter even before the show started airing on the East Coast, and Fox ultimately reported that 2.4 million tweets were sent during the show.

Empire will move off the free service in the next few weeks and only be available to those who subscribe to Hulu Plus for $7.99 a month.

Next season, Hulu will continue to stream current episodes one day after they air on Fox. Fox announced that Empire would return for a second season — something of a no-brainer considering that Empire is the only primetime broadcast series to show growth across ten consecutive weeks in more than two decades — on January 17, after only two episodes had aired.

No details were revealed about what Hulu paid for Empire exclusivity, but it’s likely the show fetched premium pricing. Other recent broadcast hits—NBC’s The Blacklist, produced by Sony Pictures Television, and Fox’s Gotham, produced by Warner Bros.— were sold to Netflix for as much as $2 million an episode domestically.

Empire wrapped its first season on Wednesday night, scoring a series high 16.5 million viewers, a 10 percent jump from last week’s previous record of 14.9 million. Viewers also sent 2.4 million tweets during the finale, another series record.

Beyond just being a broadcast phenomenon, Empire’s soundtrack hit #1 on Billboard’s 200 Album Chart this week, marking the first time a TV soundtrack has managed that feat since 2010. Music was baked into the show about a hip-hop dynasty, with hit-maker Timbaland on board as producer.

Empire is produced by Imagine Television in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television.

Image courtesy of Fox/Chuck Hodes.

Read more: Variety

Brief Take: TV shows are available on far more platforms today than every before, but the biggest hits can still demand exclusivity and the prices that go along with that status.

Tags:


  Save as PDF