NBC's iTunes Alternative Launches Private Beta

NBC and Universal's joint venture Hulu.com has launched in private beta. The new video service will feature premium video content delivered over a Flash-based web interface, and is already being syndicated to sites such as video.aol.com. First impressions have been positive, and Hulu allows you to embed content into other websites. As a private beta, access to the site appears to be limited, but the embedded player allows you to browse other content.

At present it appears the content is ad-supported, with very short ads playing at designated times during playback. Ads are noted on the timeline as small dots.

An entire episode of The Office is embedded below, but the player reportedly does not work outside the U.S:

In August, NBC pulled their television content from the iTunes store due to disagreements in pricing structure.