Sony to offer Hulu Plus preview on PlayStation 3 right away

Sony PS3 to offer Hulu Plus preview immediately

LOS ANGELES — Some PlayStation 3 users in the U.S. will be able to try out the $9.99-per-month video subscription plan from Hulu right away.

Sony Corp. says that means the PlayStation 3 will be the only game console able to play streaming videos from Hulu this year.

Hulu plans to launch its Hulu Plus subscription service on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 early next year.

Invitations will be sent to certain subscribers of PlayStation Plus, a $49.99-a-year service that offers gamers select downloads and game trials. A wider rollout to all U.S. PlayStation 3 users is expected in the next few months.

Hulu, a joint venture between NBC Universal, News Corp., The Walt Disney Corp., and Providence Equity Partners, kicked off its premium subscription plan last month to supplement advertising revenue on its free video website and expand to more devices.

Hulu Plus subscribers can get the entire current season of “Glee,” ”The Office,” ”House” and other series, as well as a complete roster of past seasons from broadcasters ABC, Fox and NBC.

But paying subscribers will be shown the same number of ads as users of the free website, who can only see a few recent episodes of those shows.