In the growing war of online film and TV distributors, Hulu has just scored a pretty significant victory. Today, the company announced an exclusive deal for pay one window rights with IFC Films, a giant of independent cinema. The deal will cover all documentary releases by IFC Films, Sundance Selects, and IFC Midnight.
The first IFC documentary Hulu will release is King Georges, about chef and restauranteur Georges Perrier and the sale of his Le Bec-Fin. It will be made available online this fall after its theatrical run, which begins next month, concludes. Other documentaries already announced for inclusion on Hulu include City of Gold, about Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold, and Weiner, about the failed mayoral campaign of Anthony Weiner.
This is merely the latest battle in what will surely be an escalating three-way shootout between Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix.