Andy Forssell

Senior VP of Content, Hulu

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/27/2012 12:01:00 AM

The over-the-top market is headed for a big smackdown this year, as Netflix, Google, Amazon, Verizon, Dish, Apple, Comcast, Microsoft and others battle to expand their offerings and market share. And that’s a mighty big plus to Andy Forssell, given the $ 500 million Hulu plans to spend on TV shows and movies in 2012.

Forssell, who expanded Hulu’s content providers from two in 2007 when he joined the company to more than 330 today, has already played a key role in the service’s growth to 1.5 million subscribers and $410 million of revenue in 2011. But Hulu still lags way behind Netflix’s 21.7 million subs. Now that Hulu’s owners have backed away from selling the service and are hoping to turn it into an OTT powerhouse, Forssell’s efforts to acquire rights for new international services and push into original programming to complement the 45,000 or so titles available on Hulu Plus will be developments worth staying tuned to.