This is big. One of the biggest media events I have seen in years. And, somewhat ironically, especially for a media concern, it comes with relatively little fanfare.
What I am talking about is the March 2008 introduction of hulu.com.
Few things in life have been quite as predictable as content providers misreading technology-enabled market opportunities. We have watched recent miscues include unsuccessful battles with Napster, digital rights management, and Youtube. What’s a content provider to do – after all, aren’t they supposed to be king?
Technology began sideswiping content providers back when Radio wiped out vaudeville, then broadcast TV dumped radio, followed by the wake of cable and satellite TV. You would think such a turbulent history would have produced experienced managers capable of embracing technology. Instead, whether Internet distribution or progressive digital rights management, content providers have always chosen a slow, antagonistic and anachronistic approach. Until now, that is.
Hulu.com provides extensive directories of movies and TV shows from more than 50 content providers (including FOX, NBC, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and more). Shows include full-length episodes of current primetime TV shows such as The Simpsons and The Office the morning after they air, classics like Miami Vice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and clips from Saturday Night Live, Nip/Tuck, and others. Hulu also offers full-length feature films like The Usual Suspects, Ice Age, Three Amigos!, and The Big Lebowski as well as clips from films such as Napoleon Dynamite, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Devil Wears Prada and many more.
Best of all, Hulu is free and ad-supported and is available anytime in the U.S. Hulu was founded in March 2007 and is a joint venture owned by NBC Universal and News Corp. In addition, Hulu has closed a $100 million investment from private equity firm Providence Equity Partners.
Besides the current blockbusters mentioned above, Hulu.com also features classics from the early days of TV including “I Spy” (Robert Culp and Bill Cosby) as well as “Lost in Space.” I find the video quality extremely high and the site easy to use. The commercials, at 15 seconds, are tastefully embedded into the video stream.