Fox/NBC's Hulu: Not Quite Ready for Prime-Time

"There was an error on this page (500 error).  Sorry - we’ve encountered an unexpected error. We’ve been notified about this issue and we’ll take a look at it shortly."

That’s the message I’m encountering today as I try to access Hulu, the portal created to compete with Youtube.

I’m on Hulu "private beta" but, so far, no can do - for about the last two hours.

(ETA: 11:05a PDT.  The site is now back up and running)

Hulu, the joint venture between News Corp-owned Fox and GE’s NBC Universal, is "expected to launch as early as tomorrow," according to today’s Wall Street Journal.

(ETA:  This message has just posted on Hulu’s home page - "Hulu opens to the public on March 12th!")

The site has been on "private beta" since October.  In the Spring of ‘07, when Fox and NBC Universal announced the joint venture, executives said they would spend $100 million on the effort.

In late summer, "private-equity firm Providence Equity Partners invested $100 million for a 10% stake in the site," said the WSJ.