Japanese broadcast giant Nippon TV has acquired Hulu Japan, putting an end to any Hulu's international ambitions. The transaction is subject to certain regulatory conditions, is expected to close in early Spring, marking Nippon TV's entry into the SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) business.

"We have now reached a point in the growth of the business in Japan where we feel the best path forward is to sell the company to a strategic buyer. I'm announcing today that Hulu's Japan business is to be acquired by Nippon Television Network Corporation (Nippon TV), who will assume the day-to-day operations and management of the business at the closing of the transaction," Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins announced the move in a blog post.

Hulu's subscription video on demand service launched in Japan just under three years ago. The Hulu service in Japan is now accessible across more than 90 million devices in the Japan market, including connected TVs and Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. And in those three years, the service has grown to include more than 13,000 assets of TV dramas, movies and anime.

Nippon TV is the leading television network in Japan, ranking #1 in average household viewer ratings in the past three years.

Nippon TV will be licensing Hulu's brand and technology and will continue to provide services to Japanese consumers.

In addition to assuming the day-to-day management of the Japan business, Nippon TV will be adding Nippon TV titles to the service.