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Hulu to start charging in 2010?

Queasy

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
EW - What to charge and how much to charge appears to be very much in question.

News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey opened the B&C OnScreen summit to discuss where he sees the business going. ?It?s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online,? he said. Carey said that while everyone cites the infamous Jeff Zucker quip that ?We?re exchanging analogue dollars for digital dimes,? the industry continues to do exactly that. The strategy needs to be more than just fighting piracy and Google, he says.

?I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value,? Carey said. ?Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.?

AdVerse had a quick chat with Carey too and posed the question, when exactly does Hulu start charging then? Carey, who says he?s only been to one Hulu board meeting since arriving at News Corp., suggests there is still no timeline but supposes it?s at least in 2010. Carey says that while throwing up a pay-wall around all content is not the answer, it doesn?t mean there wont be fees for some specially-created content and TV previews. Windows are just around the corner. American Idol audition previews anyone? Mobile Hulu is another potential way of making money.

So what changes if and when Comcast takes the NBCU seat at the Hulu table alongside News Corp. and Disney? Comcast has very different thoughts about how to charge for online content. Carey sees the authentication strategy as a good first move, but describes it as defensive, and told me he doesn?t see how it creates additional revenue.

And then there are the regulatory hurdles facing a Comcast deal for NBCU which could result in a delay of at least a year before Comcast gets to really run the show.
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If they want to add paid content like movies you can buy on demand, that's ok. But leave my regular TV shows alone.
 
Good while it lasted. People on the internet are only interested in" free." The moment that changes, most people will find other means.
 
who didn't see this one coming?

These people seem to think that the old bait and switch tactic of introducing something cool for free then trying to charge for it will work. It doesn't and will not ever work. At least they are getting ad revenue now... most people will just turn to illegal means to watch the content with this move, making the problem worse for them.
 
Originally posted by: skace
If hulu ups the quality and dumps the commercials id consider paying for it.
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I'd pay $20 a month if the dumped the ads and got a client out for the Xbox 360 so I could watch it on my TV without having to build an HTPC.
 
I am willing to pay, if they can provide the same content I get on tv with no commercials for less money, sure why not.

 
Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
Originally posted by: skace
If hulu ups the quality and dumps the commercials id consider paying for it.
Click to expand...

I'd pay $20 a month if the dumped the ads and got a client out for the Xbox 360 so I could watch it on my TV without having to build an HTPC.
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have you tried tversity? http://tversity.com/

the paid version supposedly supports hulu and it's only one time fee of $30

 
If they manipulated the price into my cable bill, I probably wouldn't mind. There is no way I'd pay an extra fee for Hulu. It doesn't have enough value to me.
 
If "digital dimes" are not sufficient then expect to fail. They have already set the value of their content to be free with a handful of commercials, if that wasn't viable to start with it was a pretty dumb move on their part.

They could probably get away with some more commercials or (if it pays better) the long commercial at the beginning but if they start putting the shows in a walled garden that requires payment I'd guess a lot of folks will just go for piracy which will generate zero revenue.

I don't mind "paying" for a show by watching a few commercials but when it becomes money out of my wallet I'll probably not bother without some extra value beyond what hulu offers now.
 
Originally posted by: Platypus
who didn't see this one coming?

These people seem to think that the old bait and switch tactic of introducing something cool for free then trying to charge for it will work. It doesn't and will not ever work. At least they are getting ad revenue now... most people will just turn to illegal means to watch the content with this move, making the problem worse for them.
Click to expand...



So what if Hulu charged off the bat, would that be more acceptable? I'm just curious -- the bait and switch thing seems to be the annoyance, not the fact that they will charge, correct?

It's a hard thing to do -- if Hulu charged right away, they may have never gotten even close to the amount of popularity. Say they did start out by subscription and only had 10,000 members. Now if they start off free (like they did) and have 1 million viewers/members, they only need 1% of the 1 million to subscribe, which is probably pretty attainable. So it makes sense business wise -- except for that fact that they made a lot of money on commercials, so they shouldn't have to charge.
 
Originally posted by: Platypus
who didn't see this one coming?

These people seem to think that the old bait and switch tactic of introducing something cool for free then trying to charge for it will work. It doesn't and will not ever work. At least they are getting ad revenue now... most people will just turn to illegal means to watch the content with this move, making the problem worse for them.
Click to expand...

heh tell that to ebay and paypal.
 
Originally posted by: amdhunter
Good while it lasted. People on the internet are only interested in" free." The moment that changes, most people will find other means.
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This. Another site will pop up that will be free for awhile. And rince and repeat.
 
Originally posted by: her209
I don't mind paying but if I do, I demand top notch service.
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that, and if you get access to essentially all Network programming.

hell...cable programming while you're at it. Would need to include HBO/Showtime access for me to even consider it.
 
Originally posted by: Quintox
Originally posted by: Platypus
who didn't see this one coming?

These people seem to think that the old bait and switch tactic of introducing something cool for free then trying to charge for it will work. It doesn't and will not ever work. At least they are getting ad revenue now... most people will just turn to illegal means to watch the content with this move, making the problem worse for them.
Click to expand...



So what if Hulu started charging off the bat, do you think in the long run they'd have more users than when they start charging next year?

I'm not attacking you, I'm really just curious.
Click to expand...

Yes I do. The iTunes store is a perfect example of affordable content that has a huge user base and was a pay service from its inception.

By charging for Hulu, they are alienating a very large subset of consumers who really came there to see content that was taken off of other free services like Youtube. You have to put up with an ad now which is annoying but since it's free that's fine. It was a great way to make a little money and combat piracy by providing a central location for such things.

To move to a money making model now is a terrible business decision. There will always be a subset of people who will stick with it but a large majority of casual users will now find other ways to watch the content. They'll essentially force people away from the one place they engineered this solution to land people in.
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
Originally posted by: Platypus
who didn't see this one coming?

These people seem to think that the old bait and switch tactic of introducing something cool for free then trying to charge for it will work. It doesn't and will not ever work. At least they are getting ad revenue now... most people will just turn to illegal means to watch the content with this move, making the problem worse for them.
Click to expand...

heh tell that to ebay and paypal.
Click to expand...

Apples and oranges comparison.
 
Originally posted by: Platypus
Originally posted by: Quintox
Originally posted by: Platypus
who didn't see this one coming?

These people seem to think that the old bait and switch tactic of introducing something cool for free then trying to charge for it will work. It doesn't and will not ever work. At least they are getting ad revenue now... most people will just turn to illegal means to watch the content with this move, making the problem worse for them.
Click to expand...



So what if Hulu started charging off the bat, do you think in the long run they'd have more users than when they start charging next year?

I'm not attacking you, I'm really just curious.
Click to expand...

Yes I do. The iTunes store is a perfect example of affordable content that has a huge user base and was a pay service from its inception.

By charging for Hulu, they are alienating a very large subset of consumers who really came there to see content that was taken off of other free services like Youtube. You have to put up with an ad now which is annoying but since it's free that's fine. It was a great way to make a little money and combat piracy by providing a central location for such things.

To move to a money making model now is a terrible business decision. There will always be a subset of people who will stick with it but a large majority of casual users will now find other ways to watch the content. They'll essentially force people away from the one place they engineered this solution to land people in.
Click to expand...

It's a hard thing to do -- if Hulu charged right away, they may have never gotten even close to the amount of popularity. Say they did start out by subscription and only had 10,000 members. Now if they start off free (like they did) and have 1 million viewers/members, they only need 1% of the 1 million to subscribe, which is probably pretty attainable. So it makes sense business wise -- except for that fact that they made a lot of money on commercials, so they shouldn't have to charge.
 
I honestly wish broadcast companies and studios would get rid of the silly regional DRM. If you aren't going to let somebody watch his shows when he's traveling out of the country for work or a vacation and there's no way to legally buy the videos where do you think he's going to turn for his fix?
 
Originally posted by: Quintox
Originally posted by: Platypus
Originally posted by: Quintox
Originally posted by: Platypus
who didn't see this one coming?

These people seem to think that the old bait and switch tactic of introducing something cool for free then trying to charge for it will work. It doesn't and will not ever work. At least they are getting ad revenue now... most people will just turn to illegal means to watch the content with this move, making the problem worse for them.
Click to expand...



So what if Hulu started charging off the bat, do you think in the long run they'd have more users than when they start charging next year?

I'm not attacking you, I'm really just curious.
Click to expand...

Yes I do. The iTunes store is a perfect example of affordable content that has a huge user base and was a pay service from its inception.

By charging for Hulu, they are alienating a very large subset of consumers who really came there to see content that was taken off of other free services like Youtube. You have to put up with an ad now which is annoying but since it's free that's fine. It was a great way to make a little money and combat piracy by providing a central location for such things.

To move to a money making model now is a terrible business decision. There will always be a subset of people who will stick with it but a large majority of casual users will now find other ways to watch the content. They'll essentially force people away from the one place they engineered this solution to land people in.
Click to expand...

It's a hard thing to do -- if Hulu charged right away, they may have never gotten even close to the amount of popularity. Say they did start out by subscription and only had 10,000 members. Now if they start off free (like they did) and have 1 million viewers/members, they only need 1% of the 1 million to subscribe, which is probably pretty attainable. So it makes sense business wise -- except for that fact that they made a lot of money on commercials, so they shouldn't have to charge.
Click to expand...

That is a valid point and it's hard to say how Hulu would have done if it started as a pay service. If Hulu had started without any commercials at all and you paid a flat fee for unlimited access it would have been hugely popular in my opinion.
 
Hopefully if they do start charging they can increase the number of shows they have and allow you access to every episode of those shows. I can understand them having only the last three or four episodes of a show given that it's free, but if I'm paying money I want to be able to go back and watch as many episodes of a show as I want.

Upping the quality would be nice too.
 
Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
Hopefully if they do start charging they can increase the number of shows they have and allow you access to every episode of those shows. I can understand them having only the last three or four episodes of a show given that it's free, but if I'm paying money I want to be able to go back and watch as many episodes of a show as I want.

Upping the quality would be nice too.
Click to expand...

Allowing you to buffer more than a minute or two would also be nice. Would help people on slower or more spotty connections.
 
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