Disruptive TV streaming service Hulu is preparing to launch in Australia with sources close to the project flagging it might launch with or without the support of the commercial free-to-air TV networks.

Hulu, which offers free ad-supported on-demand streaming of TV shows and movies, has been a runaway hit in the US, where it garners hundreds of millions of streams a month on desktop computers and internet-connected TVs.

A grab from the Hulu home page.

NBC Universal, Fox Entertainment Group and Disney all own roughly equal stakes in the company but, so far, the content (there are more than 260 content partners) has only been available to those in the US. Hulu was formed as a way of fighting back against online TV show piracy.

In the strongest indication yet that Hulu is launching in Australia, the company, headquartered in Los Angeles, filed for an Australian trademark on March 29.