WebProNews

In what could be a big push for Hulu and online video in general, NBC has decided to release new episodes of a few of its shows on Hulu before they even air on television.

Hulu has been climbing up the online video popularity charts recently, and this should prove to boost it even further. In the Nielsen Online VideoCensus released a couple weeks ago, Hulu had already climbed up to the number 8 spot, above both CNN and Turner Sports and Entertainment, though it was launched only 5 months prior.

Michael Learmonth at Silicon Alley Insider notes, "It's unlikely Hulu will have these shows exclusively for the week. NBC will no doubt also air these on NBC.com." Regardless of the exclusivity, it really shows that even the big networks are taking online video seriously, and could be a glimpse into the future of television programming.

Shows to be included in NBC's web line-up are Chuck, Life, Knight Rider, Lipstick Jungle, and 30 Rock. Unfortunately they're not doing this with The Office, although they have been supplying exclusive-to-web mini-episodes of that at NBC.com for a while.

Hopefully more stations will follow suit and begin offering shows on the web in advance. I'd particularly love to see some new "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" as soon as possible. That could conceivably come true considering both FX (the station on which it airs) and Hulu are both properties of Fox (Hulu is co-owned by Fox and NBC).

Although not all of the major networks are offering shows online in advance, Hulu is still getting some big name shows once they air. It even has a page dedicated to its "Fall Line-up", which includes season premieres for hit shows like "Bones", Heroes, and "Prison Break" Thankfully "The Office" and "Always Sunny" are included there as well.