
// Development
Hulu Clone Website - How to Create a Live Streaming Website like Hulu?
// Development
In this article, you will find step-by-step instructions on how to create your own streaming site like Hulu. We'll cover everything you need to know to develop a clone - from finding a niche and content sources to choosing a recommendation algorithm and developing a minimum viable product.
So when creating your clone, the first thing you need to do is decide what content your streaming site will broadcast to users. Here are some profitable niches you can use:
Netflix, Hulu and Sling TV all use OTT, and overall this technology is more popular than the IPTV protocol used by AT&T U-verse and Verizon Fios. So when you're building a streaming service like Hulu, it's best to choose OTT.
Video streaming technology. Streaming protocols break video into small pieces and send them to the end-user’s device and then reassemble them. The most popular protocols are MPEG-DASH, Microsoft Smooth Streaming (MSS), HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), and HTTP Dynamic Flash Streaming (HDS). YouTube, Netflix and Hulu use MPEG-Dash.
Streaming service architecture. Hulu uses a microservices approach to develop its service, i.e. an application is a collection of stand-alone services that run through APIs. With this approach, Hulu can easily scale and integrate with third-party services without much effort on the part of their programming team.
Hulu uses a cloud architecture (provider - AWS) to store files for more than fifty channels and a huge library of movies and TV series. To broadcast content to users around the world in maximum quality and without delays, Hulu uses a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
At the next stage of creating a clone app, you need to decide where you will receive content from: create it yourself or use videos from other distributors. If you want to work with distributors, you need to obtain a license for public use of media content from Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) and/or SWANK Motion Pictures.
Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and other big wallet players use both of these options. In particular, Hulu spends about $ 2.5 billion on the production of films and TV series. In terms of using someone else's video, Hulu partners with A&E, Big Ten Network, Bravo, E!, Fox Sports 2, FX, PBS, NFL Network, Oxygen, RT America, Fox Sports 1, SundanceTV, Syfy, USA Network, NBCSN.
TV show recording. Hulu allows users to record shows that are streamed live to their personal cloud storage (often called Cloud DVR). Such storage in your Hulu clone can be implemented using Velocix Origin or Cisco Infinite Video Platform technologies.
There are several ways to create such a recommendation system:
Broadcast to big screens. This feature will allow you to duplicate the image from your phone or computer on large TV screens via Wi-Fi wireless connection. This can be done in two ways:
Transactional video on demand (TVOD). Users pay for each movie, episode or season of a series and TV show. At the same time, such a subscription can be end-to-end (users get constant access to paid content) or in the form of payment for display/rent (users get access to content for a limited time).