Web video service Hulu is planning an initial public offering that could be worth more than $2 billion, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday.
The service, which offers popular shows such as "Glee" and "Modern Family" as well as movies, is in talks with investment banks to go public later this year, the source said.
Hulu is jointly owned by General Electric Co affiliate NBC Universal, Walt Disney Co's ABC, News Corp's Fox Networks and as well as Providence Equity Partners.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
News Corp declined to comment. Hulu, Walt Disney and NBC were not immediately available for comment. Hulu's plans were first disclosed by The New York Times.
The impending IPO underscores the competition among online media services, including Google Inc's YouTube, to provide movies and TV shows to consumers through a variety of devices.
Viewers can watch Hulu shows and movies for free on computers. Last month, Hulu introduced a paid subscription service for mobile devices, game consoles and television sets to strike a balance between paid and ad-supported models.
CBS Corp is the only major broadcast network not involved with Hulu but in recent weeks Chief Executive Les Moonves said it is in talks to possibly bring some of its TV shows to Hulu, thanks to its paid service.
Recently Netflix, the online movie rental service, struck a deal with Epix pay TV channel for exclusive online rights to stream movies from the three studios that own Epix.
Hulu reported a revenue of about $100 million last year and was on track to repeat the same by the middle of this year, the Times said.