There was a mini-internet revolt the last time
NBC Universal's TV chief started talking about ways to actually turn a profit from Hulu and the search for a balance continues. People familiar with the matter -- our favorite source by the way -- told the LA Times that the search in question could take another six months before official pricing is announced, but the latest idea being thrown around is to charge a $5 per month subscription for access to older shows. A quick search of Hulu just showed that only the past four or five episodes of newer shows are currently available, so charging for older shows means new access to additional content. We have to say that offering additional programming above and beyond what is currently free is a pretty good strategy, but the other one we'd like to see is a premium option to view content commercial free -- no word on if any of the paid content will still have commercials. The one thing this won't change is the fact that the content creators already sold the rights to these shows on the TV, which of course means Hulu won't be able to stop going out of its way to
block things like Boxee and the
PS3 -- still kind of shocked that
PlayOn isn't affected.
posted January 21st 2010 10:02PM
My dad always said nothing in this world is free :\
@CJisohsocool
Since your dad said nothing is free then the networks must take note and realize that our eyeballs are not free. So if they want eyeballs (remember that's how they sell their million dollar ads) then we're gonna need some quality full episode content and we'll deal with the boring ads. Don't push it friendster...I mean myspace...er, NBC or else we're outta here.
@DaveBach
o... I like you ;)
@CJisohsocool
Hulu is dead, hulu is dead - how fast did napster die when they started charging!!!
@CJisohsocool
I started to think some more about those eyeballs they promised their advertiser again. Perhaps they should not only deliver the archived shows but dust off the original commercials too. They may actually be a bit more entertaining. I remember singing along to that truck commercial...you remember, it was priced "at only fifty-nine...ninety-five."
@CJisohsocool
pirate bay...torrents...hallelujah!
@CJisohsocool
Xing, are you kidding?
Napster was a P2P file sharing application. Then it turned into a mp3 buying software. Similar, but 100% different. I would be glad to pay for hulu if they had a wider range of shows/episodes. I wonder when the tv stations will realize that the whole TV station concept is an old one.
I can picture a day where each channel is run more like a tv friendly website where you have access to all their shows, but they also will have a global playlist available which will run 24/7 like a normal tv show. Ads will be fully dynamic and will run with all the videos available.
Boatloads of fail.
@ROFL
That and all the decent movies were removed last summer and replaced with clips.
@ROFL Hulu sucks big time . TV Shack is where its at.
@ROFL Hulu sucks big time . TV Shack is where its at.
@ROFL
For some reason I read your post as "Battletoads of Fail".
I got really excited about a new Saturday morning cartoon for a second there. It must be early.
@3rdsun Yeah... if you love having spyware on your system it sure is where its at.
I'll pass.
Headline should read:
Hulu users might be returning to bittorrent in droves.
@sonicyoof
this.
@sonicyoof
I second this. And that.
@sonicyoof
This is almost verbatim of what I was going to post, +1.
@sonicyoof
People who switched from bittorrent to Hulu weren't too bright an audience to begin with (that is, if they exist at all). Doubt this move will affect them in any way.
@sonicyoof I am so sick an tired of this growing trend of moral ambiguity I know that the networks are screwing us but that is no excuse to steal content. By the way I know that Bittorrent has some legal and legitimate uses like downloading Linux distros so Bittorrent isn't bad. I also know that on the related subject of Music that artists get screwed themselves from the record companies and most money is acquired through concerts. With all of these facts it makes it seem like downloading content for free is justified and a good way to protest such greedy acts, however it is still wrong and illegal, if you really want to make a difference call your local representative and tell them you want the law to be changed, because as much as you are screwed now it will be much worse in federal prison.
@Michael Kirschner Well you just robbed me of 25 seconds (the time it took me to read your post). Go repent.
@Michael Kirschner
First of all, LOL.
Second, people use bittorrent because they can get what they want conveniently. It has little to do with users' greed and much to do with the content providers' greed. A lot of the top TV torrenting is done by people in countries where the broadcast of an episode is majorly delayed. They want it at the same time as other countries, so where do they go? Bittorrent. And please explain to me how showing a TV show with ads on TV is different than showing a TV show with ads on the internet. People like Hulu because it's basically instant TV. If everything was on Hulu, there would be little to no piracy of TV shows.
But the networks won't play along. "Oh, we can't let you use Boxee, licensing this, licensing that, we want more money, fuck the WGA, etc." They still think they can have everything their way, force-fed to their viewers. Well, things don't work that way on the internet. Make it easy to view, don't restrict the hell out of it, and people will put up with ads, just like on TV.
@sonicyoof
seriously...at least w/ BT i wouldn't have to wait til the next day to watch the daily show, or 24, house or many of the other shows i now watch on hulu. house finishes @ 9, start my download @ 930, its done by 1030 at the latest. psssssh to hulu and NBC. just when i thought u couldn't screw up anymore...
Man, NBC is on a roll lately.
@andthemaniam
is this Comcast's doing? freaking hell...
Headed in the right direction.
Let the cable dead pool begin.
I'll gladly pay 5 dollars a month if it means I can have access to full catalogs of shows.
@lladnar
every show, from every network... yep. no problem. hell, i'll pay $10/month for that. fall just a little bit shy however (like every other service that is already doing the same thing) and no thanks. i'll wait til i can stream the season via dvd on netflix, or just not watch it.
@lladnar Add "Set Top Box" support and no commercials I am with you.
However without support for a set top box, and no commertial free, then I am not willing to pay for it.
@lladnar: Damn right - AND an official way to get it to my TV, rather than the hacks that we have to keep updating and working on. Whether it's Boxee, PS3, Tivo, whatever...
If Hulu could stream new release movies and more cable content, I would happily cancel my Netflix account and lay down $10 to $15 to Hulu.
Why are these comments all making it out to seem like this is a terrible idea. This sounds like a fantastic Idea.
You get everything you have now to continue at the same low low price of FREE, but also have the option to watch shows that would previously be expired and possibly not have to worry about advertisement.
@Aethix
I was wondering the same thing. According to this report, Hulu as it is now WON'T CHANGE...there will just be the option to pay for more than the most-recent 5 eps for those who want it. How is this not a win for everyone?
@Aethix
Yeah, the world is ending crowd didn't read the article. Hulu will remain free, as it is right now. For $5 a month you get access to a back catalog of TV shows that aren't even on Hulu right now. You will basically have a huge selection of shows available.
However, greed is greed, and it wouldn't surprise me if they did move to a pay per view, or a full subscription based service if the $5 service doesn't bring in enough money.
THEN everyone can start saying so-long to Hulu, and hello to other means.
there aren't any old shows because they removed just about everything on there at the end of last summer.
hulu is just a glorified yahoo trailers.
w00t I might now have a social life instead of re-watching episodes of Stargate =D
Wake me up when people begin to understand what the internet is.
You're "... still kind of shocked that PlayOn isn't AFFECTED."
@Fanfoot
Grammar Nazi fail.
Effect is the correct word.
@BigJayDogg3
Stupid to point it out in the first place but, the 'grammer nazi' is right. The effect of PlayOn not being affected shocked the blogger. Shocked is the "effect" which was caused. PlayOn is not in the "affected" area of Hulu's shenanigans.
@MikeEcho5
Glad you straightened him out--I really can't believe that engadget hasn't fixed this yet.
I recall a rant by Josh to someone in UStream not too long ago about the incorrect use of their, there, and they're...
@Rick James I specifically logged in and was scrolling down the comments so I could POST what you guys posted. But, thankfully, you beat me to it. Lol.
For those that don't know:
Affect = How you refer to the object being interacted with.
Effect = How you refer to the outcome of the interaction.
It will *a*ffect an object. But the *e*ffect is the consequence of such an interaction.
@BigJayDogg3
Why does everybody hate on grammar 'nazis'? I don't think that it is unreasonable to expect a person who makes a living WRITING or EDITING to get basic grammar correct. These people are getting paid to write in a literate fashion and the Fail is on their part.
I might pay $5/month for this IF it included CBS AND it worked on Boxee...
I've given up on hulu for the mass majority of shows. Why? They start a "new" show (really shows that have since gone out of active production, but I haven't seen any episodes yet so it's "new" for me), upload a few episodes from the first or other seasons, then just STOP.
I got really sick of their abandonment of good shows. Maybe it's an issue with the content owners, but it's still really stupid. Ultimate factories only uploaded two episodes - two! Their show page is still up, but who knows why. Modern marvels quit after some episodes from the first season, even though they're from 2005 and there's nothing keeping them from uploading newer episodes - they're already out there, it's not like they have to be produced. I'm not sure if the content owners don't care, but I guess not - if I want to watch these shows, I now just pirate them. Before, I would've at least sat through the hulu ads. Now, the content publishers don't even get that.
Those idiots just don't have any common sense. That's fine - I dislike ads anyway.
Plus, with popular, currently produced shows, the episodes last maybe a week before they "expire." What the hell? It's not like the DVD for that season of the show will even be out for another 6-12 months anyway. What the hell?
Plus, with shows where you want to find a clip - such as Family guy - many of the best clips expire quickly. This is very frustrating, as any other sources, like YouTube, are trolled by copyright Nazis. This makes finding that FG clip that you wanted to share impossible to find in a format that's easily shareable. There is no logic to such a policy, since they lose nothing by leaving it accessible - in fact, they only stand to gain by the ad revenue (even the silly ad policy of watching a one minute ad for a 20 sec clip). By taking it off, they only lose out on the ad revenue, make fewer people use hulu, and foment ill feeling towards hulu.
Hulu can charge their damn $5... and go to hell.
@paul34
BTW, I realize the point of the $5 is to access older shows... but my previous point still stands. It shouldn't be necessary. If I'm going to spend money, I'd rather spend it on a Rapidshare account and watch my shows in 720p...
@paul34
You'd rather buy the rapidshare and watch the video in 720p rather then watch a show instantly when ever you want. Buffer time is way faster then rapidshare or torrents will ever be.
@Aethix
720p + no ads + no buffering is all worth the time to download it. Plus, there's plenty of other stuff to download using the service.
Hulu is pretty over-rated if you ask me. Just go to the networks website to watch their shows. I'm so tired of websites like this never having the content I really want and having poor video quality.
"The one thing this won't change is the fact that the content creators already sold the rights to these shows on the TV, which of course means Hulu won't be able to stop going out of its way to block things like Boxee and the PS3 -- still kind of shocked that PlayOn isn't effected."
What?
@Hilltop
What I think they're saying is that now Hulu can't pull an old school YouTube and play dumb while people watch copyrighted content.
New school YouTube sucks. Handing out bans over foolishness. SMH