Uncategorized 23 Nov 2009 11:19 am
Could subscription fees be the end of Hulu?
Free television shows you can watch on your computer? It sounds too good to be true? That’s what Hulu, the online video player, is beginning to think as well.
Hulu.com showcases the latest episodes of shows from major cable channels for free. It’s simple to work: just find the series you want to watch and click on an episode. There are commercials and Hulu will remove television shows after a short period of time, but overall it’s a great concept.
Despite its popularity and general success, Hulu is considering a huge change. The video player has announced it would like to start charging viewers in 2010, turning the “free-for-all” website into a subscription service.
If Hulu starts charging its viewers for content, it will lose quite a few significant audience groups. People who just want to catch up on a series won’t continue with Hulu, and neither will those who use it as a surrogate television. Most major television channels will offer the three most recent episodes of a show for free, if you don’t mind their finicky media players. Many users will be hard-pressed to find something positive about a media player which charges it viewers for something they had been getting for free.
Hulu will need to evolve if it wants to charge viewers and remain the top online-video site after YouTube. The first thing will be to cut all commercials; nobody wants to pay to sit through the same McDonald’s commercial five times in a 20-minute show. Hulu will also need to beef up its content. Currently, it only offers maybe 5-10 current television shows from each main channel and only a few shows from smaller specialized channels like Syfy. More shows from more channels would be a great way for Hulu to keep its audiences.
The biggest thing Hulu will need to do to remain popular with subscription fees is simply to be the best. Whether it’s offering more than 300 television series in their entirety or featuring full-length movies before their release on DVD, Hulu could survive a major change. Without something extraordinary, though, Hulu won’t make it to another season.
Alyssa Eckles
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