The service, which claims to have attracted five million viewers during its 18-week testing period, will launch with ad formats such as a commercial break where advertisers hand viewers a choice of spots depending on their interests. The company claims to have sold its entire ad inventory during the test period, with advertisers including Cisco, Intel, Royal Caribbean and Nissan.
Advertisers are also being offered the chance to sponsor the viewing of a programme, should the user agree to watch a short trailer first.
For long-form content, users will see a sponsor card in the beginning introducing the content and ads will appear during commercial breaks.
Hulu, which features TV shows such as The Simpsons and films such as The Usual Suspects, claims its service will be less intrusive than traditional linear TV channels. A Hulu spokesman said: "The difference between Hulu and broadcast, however, is that there will only be approximately 25% of the ads that you would see on broadcast."
Hulu is expected to provide stiff competition for UK online TV services, such as BBC iPlayer and the planned video-on-demand offering from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, codenamed Kangaroo.
The Hulu spokesman added: "Our intention is to make Hulu's growing content line-up available worldwide. This requires clearing the rights for each show or film in each specific geography and will take time."
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