Hulu has announced that its Hulu Plus apps for Android and iPad are now Chromecast-enabled (iPhone coming soon). The Hulu Plus apps join the initial launch apps (Netflix, YouTube, Google Play), which were announced concurrent with the device's debut in late July.

I'm not a Hulu Plus subscriber so I haven't tested with Chromecast, but from the company's blog post, it looks like all the existing apps' features are maintained, with integrated one touch casting to the TV via Chromecast the only change. In my original post on Chromecast, I noted that a key Chromecast advantage for content providers was that it leveraged existing apps, and via a simple SDK could enable the integrated casting capability. This means Chromecast updates are relatively simple and inexpensive to execute - both huge factors in getting content providers' much-coveted attention.

I continue to be bullish on Chromecast and believe that the ball is just starting to roll in terms of getting more content providers on board. Many have already expressed interest and it wouldn't surprise me if leading up to the holiday season we saw a steady drumbeat of Chromecast announcements by high-profile content providers (e.g. HBO, VEVO, Vimeo, Pandora, etc.), all of which will help make the device a huge holiday hit with consumers. Note, Chromecast remains the #1 bestseller in Amazon's electronics section.

But even without apps' direct support, it's critical to remember that "tab-casting" from the Chrome browser itself means that Chromecast makes the entire web viewable on the big screen TV. In fact, just this morning, a new study indicates that one-third of Chromecast users use it to watch TV shows via Hulu.com, using tab-casting. Tab-casting rounds out the Chromecast value prop, making the rock-bottom $35 price even more appealing. It's still early days for Chromecast, but as I've previously written, there's a lot to be excited about.