It’s the first time Hulu Japan is previewing a movie in this fashion, and it’s also something that Hulu hasn’t done stateside. The U.S. service has in the past previewed a number of TV shows before pilots or season premieres aired on TV.

Broadcasters love that kind of exposure because it helps to fuel the buzz for new shows. The Sougen no isu experiment brings up the question of whether this would work for movies as well. Maybe the limited Hulu premiere will one day replace the guy offering up free movie tickets in front of big city movie theaters.

“Each SNL episode will be available in English hours after the initial US Broadcast. Japanese subtitles will be made available a few days later.”

Extended release windows for U.S. shows abroad have long been blamed for a lot of TV show piracy, and this deal shows one interesting approach to make content available legally.

However, don’t expect most other shows to become available in a similar fashion anytime soon: Hulu didn’t license Saturday Night Live from NBC, but struck the deal directly with the show’s independent production company Broadway Video. Hollywood’s major studios may be a little more hesitant to give up international windowing just yet. Case in point: Many of Hulu Japan’s other agreements, including a deal with HBO, only cover previous seasons.

The other question of course is how easily content like Saturday Night Live is going to translate to international audiences, even with localized subtitles. Hulu Japan focused heavily on U.S. content when it launched in the country with a subscription-only offering a year ago. It has since added a lot of Japanese content as well as reduced its monthly fees to attract more users, but recent reports indicate that Hulu’s investors haven’t been overly enthusiastic about Hulu’s international ambitions.

Previously heading Avex Asia Limited, a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Group, Marini (pictured) will report to Hulu senior VP of international Johannes Larcher.  He’ll lead all strategy and operations for Hulu’s business in Japan, which opened shop in September.

A Hulu representative would not respond to our queries as to how this would change Hulu Japan’s executive infrastructure other than to say he’s reporting to Larcher.

Marini, who oversaw Asian film investment for Avex, started his career in the U.S., working as an agent trainee for Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor and later as a creative executive for Universal Pictures.

So what’s he walking into? Tough to say, since Hulu is reluctant to release usage data on the region.

Last month, the streaming video company announced that it had lowered its subscription price in Japan from ¥1480 (about $18.20) to ¥980 ($12.10).

While not offering an update on its Japanese operations, a Hulu rep said the company has increased its content partnerships to 21 from the six it had in the region at launch. Also, the estimated number of devices in Japan that are “Hulu-enabled” has reached 29 million.