There's a new video streaming site on the block and many think it could become a YouTube (GOOG) competitor. Still in the private beta phase, the joint venture between NBC Universal (GE)and News Corp. (NWS), Hulu is already being called the YouTube Killer. As far as this author is concerned, that has yet to be determined but according to Wired, Hulu "was never meant to take a shot at Google's industry-leading video sharing site."

Aside from being started by some of YouTube's main adversaries, Hulu will feature primetime shows, TV classics, and content from other networks such as E! Entertainment, FUEL TV, SciFi Network and USA. Furthermore, the video content will also be distributed by Yahoo, Comcast, AOL, MSN and MySpace.

In preparation for the launch of Hulu, NBC requested that all of its content be removed from YouTube, calling the content "promotional." Since the main contention against YouTube is the issue of copyright violation, I wonder if networks that have not made official agreements with YouTube will pull their content opting for a deal with Hulu instead. Considering that Hulu means “cease” or “dissist” in Swahilli, it would appear that NBC and News Corp. are trying to send a message to Google.

For all intents and purposes I don’t think Hulu will outpace YouTube as a video sharing destination. What it will do is offer television networks another option for distributing its content online, and users a copyright friendly way of embedding that content onto their own sites. Until launched publicly, most of the reports are just speculation. I doubt Hulu will be able to compete with YouTube as far as distributing user-created videos that make news, creating online celebrities like the incident with Andrew Meyer a while back.

The resounding question remains, what part(s) of the market will Hulu affect? It is fairly certain that it will compete with YouTube in some areas but will the competition give YouTube a run for its money? We shall see…