Lonnie Knows Everything

Hulu today introduced its Hulu Plus premium subscription plan for television content, set to offer customers willing to pay $9.99 per month the ability to access an extensive array of both current television shows and older library content. Hulu Plus, offering content in 720p HD, is also set to move beyond the company’s existing computer-centric platform to include Apple’s full line of iOS devices, iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, with streaming available over Wi-Fi and 3G. Samsung Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players will also be supported at launch, with additional support for Vizio and Sony devices, as well as the PS3 and Xbox 360 gaming platforms, rolling out in the future.

Hulu Plus is not a replacement for Hulu.com. Hulu Plus is a new, revolutionary ad-supported subscription product that is incremental and complementary to the existing Hulu service. For almost all of the current broadcast shows on our service, Hulu Plus offers the full season. Every single episode of the current season will be available, not just a handful of trailing episodes. Now there’s never a bad time to jump in on a hot new show like Modern Family (which I recommend highly). From Family Guy to Glee, from The Office to 30 Rock, from Grey’s Anatomy to Desperate Housewives, from Parks & Recreation to Parenthood, from House to Saturday Night Live, and dozens of other hits, the best time to jump in on any series is any time, and with any episode, that’s right for you.

Hulu is currently accepting requests for preview invitations to Hulu Plus. The program appears to be rolling out today, although the Hulu Plus application does not yet appear to have been posted to the App Store and it is unclear exactly when preview invitations will begin being distributed. A full, public release date for Hulu Plus is also not yet known.

Update: The free universal Hulu Plus application [App Store] is now available in the App Store. It can be used to request an invite to the preview, and access content once an invitation has been received.

Bloomberg briefly reports that multiple sources are claiming that the iPhone will launch on Verizon in January of next year, marking the end of AT&T’s exclusivity for the device in the United States.

Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile-phone company, will start selling Apple Inc.’s iPhone next year, ending AT&T Inc.’s exclusive hold on the smartphone in the U.S., two people familiar with the plans said.

The device will be available to customers in January, according to the people, who declined to be named because the information isn’t public.

Verizon and Apple representatives either declined to comment on the reports or did not return requests for comment.

Verizon has long been a popular topic for rumors regarding expanded iPhone partnerships in the United States. One recent report had suggested that a Verizon iPhone could make an appearance as soon as November, but most observers have been expecting a 2011 launch on the carrier.

Silicon Alley Insider‘s Dan Frommer reports that after a spate of corporate acquisitions late last year and earlier this year bringing such firms as Quattro Wireless, Lala Media, Intrinsity, and Siri on board, Apple may not yet be done shopping around for companies to acquire. In fact, Apple may be looking at somewhat larger deals than those undertaken in recent months, expanding deal values out to as much as $1 billion.

Apple’s shopping spree isn’t over, and the company is looking at all kinds of deals, even up to $1 billion. This is being led by Apple’s newish deals guy, former Goldman banker Adrian Perica.

The report appears to be based primarily on gossip coming out of CEO dinner moderated by Frommer last night, and addresses a number of topics beyond Apple that are currently the scuttlebutt of industry insiders. And with Apple’s iPad and iPhone 4 out the door, the time seems ripe for the company to increase its focus on some other areas.

Another tidbit of information coming out of the dinner is discussion of Apple’s next major move being into television. While Apple has clearly been playing a minor role in television with the Apple TV and its iTunes Store video offerings and there have been rumblings that it is looking to get a television deal done, it seems that Apple may finally be ramping things up. In particular, Apple’s renaming of “iPhone OS” to “iOS” is seen as setting the stage for the platform to move away from mobile and into other devices, as has been rumored for Apple TV.

Apple’s next big move is going to be TV. Besides the leaks of a supposed new Apple TV device, the company also renamed its iPhone OS “iOS,” foreshadowing a future beyond mobile devices. The company’s move into advertising — mobile, so far, but no reason it can’t extend into TV somehow — is another hint.

Possibly lending credence to claims of a significant push into television, a Bloomberg report today also notes that Jobs is set to attend the annual Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho for the first time since 2005. The conference draws many of media’s top executives and is a common venue for networking and dealmaking.

Update: Ken Li of the Financial Times tweets that although Jobs is on the invitation list, he is apparently not attending the Allen & Co. media conference.