NBC & FOX Launch Hulu To Rival YouTube

NBC and Fox are set to launch online video site Hulu to compete against YouTube (NASDAQ: GOOG). Hulu will be advertising-supported and will host programming from varied entertainment companies.

A test version of the site, Hulu.com, goes online Monday, with plans to premiere a final version in a few months, company officials said. Foc, NBC and the other media companies how to seize viewers from Google Inc.'s YouTube.

The site, developed by News Corp. (NYSE:NWS) and NBC Universal (NYSE:GE) , a unit of General Electric Co., offers free viewing of full-length films and TV episodes. It will host programming from the two networks, as well as TV shows and films from Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) , which owns Comedy Central, MTV, VH1 and many other cable channels, is suing YouTube for $1 billion, claiming massive copyright infringement of clips from popular shows, including 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.' YouTube has said it follows copyright laws by removing protected video upon request.

The shows will be available at Hulu.com, as well as on distribution partner Web sites such as AOL, MSN, MySpace, Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Comcast. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

'The technology they've put together on this short notice is not only adequate, it's also better than most of what else is out there,' said James McQuivey, a TV and media technology analyst for Forrester Research. (NASDAQ:FORR) 'I think they have moved a couple of steps forward compared to their competitors in the industry.' Technology better than YouTube? Time will tell.