Hulu May Start Charging for Content
By Ed Oswald | Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 11:08 am
Shocker. Two big media companies come together to take control of their online video offerings, become quite successful. Attempt to further capitalize by nickel and diming their users even further.
Hulu is considering charging its users to view some content, according to News Corp chief digital officer Jonathan Miller. While he has only been on the job a little over two months now, his words should carry some weight considering he is the head of the venture’s digital strategy.
Miller notes that it is only his own speculation, but “in my opinion the answer could be yes. I don’t see why over time that shouldn’t happen.” This doesn’t mean all of the content would become pay-per-view either: it seems as if Miller is suggesting Hulu may place a premium on select streams.
It really is a shame that Hulu continues to do things that make it seem like the company is out to make a quick buck, or force the user to do things the way they want. Hulu’s Boxee tiff is a perfect example.
Ah well, just gives me another reason not to use it. Since the site’s launch, I’ve visited only three times. I guess with this latest news, it gives me even more of a reason to continue to pass over the service.
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Will Hulu be free forever? Don’t count on it, hints exec | csmonitor.com Says:
June 4th, 2009 at 12:20 pm[…] of the web, so I’m not sure why Hulu would want to go backwards.” Meanwhile, Ed Oswald, a Technologizer blogger writes: It really is a shame that Hulu continues to do things that make it seem like the […]
June 4th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Knowing which content they are thinking about charging for would be nice. Otherwise, it is difficult to tell what the outcome will be from doing such a thing. If the content they want to charge for is along the lines of PPV content on TV, then it is not big loss. However, if they begin to charge for regular network content then we will definitely see quite a few issues arise, and many users leave as a result.
June 4th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Hulu’s withdrawal from Boxee was because of pressure from the content providers, not because they were “out to make a quick buck.” Before you excoriate Hulu, at least aim your guns at Hollywood first.
June 4th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Tim, I don’t buy that at all. Weeks later the two controlling companies come out with their own device, which carries all the content that they were being pressured about? Please.
Add to this the companies OWN the content they’re being pressured about for the most part and your reasoning is a little shaky.
June 5th, 2009 at 4:07 am
I think hulu is awesome. I watch TV/movies there regularly. Payware could suck depending on implementation. Currently, you only get the first three or four episodes of current TV shows for free. They try to steer you toward a DVD purchase for episodes older than that. I understand that business model. If that older not-available-for-streaming content became payware, the price per episode was reasonable (two bucks or less), and I could stream/download it forever after purchase, I’d probably go for it.