SnagFilms Adds Hulu As Distribution Partner

SnagFilms today announced it is providing portions of its video library to Hulu, an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at Hulu.com and other online destination sites — all for free, anytime in the U.S., for the launch of the company’s new documentary film section of the service.

SnagFilms brings the best nonfiction films to the web audience, promotes viral web distribution through virtual movie theater widgets, and engages viewers to assist in charitable and community efforts. “SnagFilms was created to make more great films available to the broadest possible audience. Now with Hulu we can delight viewers on one of the Internet’s most-visited video sites with a growing set of documentaries from our large library, and deepen the already broad set of entertainment choices that Hulu offers,” said Rick Allen, CEO of SnagFilms.

In addition to featuring documentary films selected from SnagFilms’ library of 600 films, the Hulu documentary channel will provide viewers with access to regular bonus content, including “Behind the Camera”, a question-and-answer feature with select documentary filmmakers. “`Behind the Camera’ will give viewers a never before seen look into documentary films and help viewers understand what drives documentary filmmakers to do what they do,” added Rick Allen.

SnagFilms also released new performance metrics achieved since its launch in July 2008, including:
SnagFilms widgets have appeared on more than 300 million web pages;
Over 1.5 million movies have been streamed;
More than 20,000 “affiliates” having opened “virtual theaters” with SnagFilms content embedded in widgets on their pages;
The SnagFilms library now contains 600 documentary films.

About SnagFilms

SnagFilms features free ad-supported viewing of hundreds of award-winning titles from some of the greatest names in documentary film production and distribution, including PBS, National Geographic, Sundance Preserve, IndiePix, Peter Jennings Productions, Arts Alliance America, ITVS, Koch Lorber Films, Cactus Three, and many others. Many of the most prominent documentary filmmakers are participating not only by having their films distributed via SnagFilms, but by engaging with their audience through blogs and offering special “bonus” material, as well as suggesting nonprofit organizations that viewers motivated by these films can link to and support via charitable contributions, volunteering or spreading the word.

Since its launch in July 2008, SnagFilms virtual movie theater widgets have been embedded into over 300 million webpages, including websites for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Politico, and hundreds of blogs and thousands of social network pages like Facebook. OVGuide named SnagFilms a Top Site of 2008.

The company was founded by digital entrepreneur, documentary film producer, professional sports teams’ owner, and philanthropist Ted Leonsis, and is additionally backed by AOL co-founder and Revolution LLC Chairman, Steve Case, philanthropist and former digital executive Jean Case, operating executive, philanthropic venture capitalist Miles Gilburne, and a group led by Ted and Jim Pedas, founders of Circle Films.

Contacts

SnagFilms
Noah Black
202-295-8797
noah {at} snagfilms(.)com