Rumor: Hulu to Acquire Mojiti

Written by Frank Smith

Wednesday, September 12. 2007 at 02:37 PM EDT Post a comment

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A rumor is circulating about Hulu's possible purchase of the video annotation company Mojiti. Hulu, the still unreleased online joint-venture between NBCU and NewsCorp., would use Mojiti's platform as the basis of Hulu's still unreleased service.

The story leaked to TechCrunch after Mojiti execs were flying back to Asia after meetings with Hulu in the U.S. and a conversation about the acquisition was overheard in an airport. Rumored acquisition price: $10 million. [Ed note: The rumor has since been confirmed.] 

The Beijing-based Mojiti's crossplatform technology enables viewers to annotate videos at specific time points. It doesn't distribute or host video but takes existing video content and places interactive features on top of the videos. Similar companies to Mojiti include Click.tv, Viddler, and Gotuit.

Neither company offered comment on this rumor with Hulu declining comment. Hulu has yet to announce any acquisitions.

Anyway, the notion of Hulu getting into video annotation for its content isn't as far-fetched as it could seem, especially if the acquisition could help Hulu speed up its launch. A company spokesperson asserts that Hulu is on track to hit its October deadline.