TV networks test online video site in bid to usurp YouTube’s dominance

HULU, an online video service formed by two media conglomerates, began private testing yesterday with two new partners in one of big media’s most ambitious attempts to court viewers wherever they spend time.

The joint venture of General Electric’s NBC Universal and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which earlier had trouble persuading other big content producers such as Viacom and Walt Disney to join, now adds shows from Sony Pictures Television and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Hulu executives said.

The long-awaited free, advertising-supported service makes its debut as consumer interest over watching video clips and television shows on the internet.