The NBCU (NYSE: GE) - NWS (NYSE: NWS) JV formerly known NewSite and NewCo finally has a name: hulu. The announcement a few minutes ago was accompanied by news that the private beta for its portal has been slated for October. Translation: the JV will miss the launch originally touted for this September and, in fact, won’t be launching at all for a while. That’s the case both for the portal and for the distribution network. More to come.

Update: From a statement on the holding page by recently appointed CEO Jason Kilar: “Why Hulu? Objectively, Hulu is short, easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and rhymes with itself. Subjectively, Hulu strikes us as an inherently fun name, one that captures the spirit of the service we’re building. Our hope is that Hulu will embody our (admittedly ambitious) never-ending mission, which is to help you find and enjoy the world’s premier content when, where and how you want it.”

As for the distribution and portal timing: “In the interest of delivering a great customer experience and making sure that we can address any feedback that comes along the way, we’re going to start small and grow iteratively in terms of the volumes of people that we invite to participate in the beta. Within that same timeframe, we will also be offering great programming through our distribution partner sites: AOL, Comcast, MSN, MySpace, and Yahoo.”

It’s also likely to pass the trademark test. But does it pass the sniff test? Do you think the name was worth the wait? Of course, the brand won’t matter much if the technology and execution aren’t up to snuff.

• NBCU-NWS Video JV Gets $100 Million Equity Investment From Providence; Possible IPO In Future