Comments on: What’s Up with Hulu?

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:59:39 +0000

I really find their ads very annoying and intrusive - and I an actually a bit surprised by this. Perhaps it is that one isn’t used to see that many ads when watching video on ones laptop.

But it made me think - how much do they earn by these “unfriendly ads” - why not just link it to your paypal account and get a “skip ad button” (or subscription) and pay 1-2 cents each time you skip.

I have no idea what kind of CPM they are getting - but with this frequency it can’t be much. A cent or two for each ad-zap plus a much better user experience is the way to go imho.

By: Vern Seward

Vern Seward — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:07:57 +0000

Hmmm… The Hulus were never the same after Galoka saved them.

By: JimD

JimD — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:11:33 +0000

Here’s another reason to hate hulu:

Go there and try watching the entire 2nd season of Heroes. You can’t. They only have 5 episodes out of 11 or 12 (can’t remember how many they finished before the strike).

Isn’t hulu NBC’s baby? Why don’t they have all episodes of Heroes 2nd season?

By: Dewey

Dewey — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:40:00 +0000

I think your issues with hulu.com have easy fixes. I have a pc sitting behind my big screen tv (old projector from the 90s) and then control it via my macbook pro. Instant TV with limited commercials (5 for the whole show compared to 5 commercials each break times 5 for regular TV)

Content, they have a lot of good stuff on their and full seasons. They are trying to get everything filled. They have the first two seasons of The Prentender with more to come. I think it is a loading issue. Note that NBC owns Hulu so all of the content comes from them and their subsidiaries.

As for watching on a computer, I watch tv mostly when I am at work on my second monitor (note I run vmware fusion windows so Hulu stays full screen). Makes the day go by so much faster

By: Dustin J. Craig

Dustin J. Craig — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:30:08 +0000

Hi, me again, just a quick question, why couldn’t they have Hulu, AND content available on iTunes? That should give them more money either way, right?

By: bowser

bowser — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:17:07 +0000

I’m looking forward to watching this bleed NBC/Universal dry… it will sell content, sure, but in the long run it won’t break even; they’ll lose money on it and only keep it going to try and spite Apple. And that makes me laugh because they’re only going to end up costing themselves money now, when they were making money before. So they loose twice.

The rest of the networks will be watching this closely, I’m sure, and they’ll see what is really involved, that it will cost them more to do it themselves than to go through Apple. After that how they proceed is anyone’s guess. If they’re smart they’ll stick with Apple.

By: Ian

Ian — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:04:51 +0000

I found many of the same issues were a problem for me too, but I just don’t think Hulu will survive very long. The networks are not targeting the right audience. I think for many people over 40, Hulu and the other network’s websites might be enough for them, but for the rest of us, those who spend an inordinate amount of time online, it just doesn’t cut it.

We want everything, not just a token selection of episodes. Quantity will make up for the ads that have to be run to keep it free. Why not put the ads only in the beginning, when excitement to watch a show is still high? I’d happily wait a minute or two through some ads to see the show for free, since that’s still a lot faster than downloading it from a torrent. I’d even accept ads that played for a few minutes and then presented a link to download. Why can’t the advertisers sponsor the link?

The problem with Hulu is that the networks think they can tiptoe into this. They can’t. If they want to beat the ease of BitTorrent (so easy my Mom can use it) then they better do something to make people switch. Offer EVERYTHING. Quantity is their strength. Find a way to put it all online, sell ads, and let us do whatever we want with the files and watch it when and how we choose. Only then will they have a chance to survive. Otherwise, they will be replaced and die.

By: Tacitus

Tacitus — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:58:59 +0000

Never underestimate the public’s acceptance of mediocrity. After all Microsoft built an empire on it….

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:51:08 +0000

You already have a content management application, it’s called iTunes, give it a try.

Why rag on hulu.com for their content? The movie studios are acting just like the music people and making it difficult for people to spend their money. Almost all the releases on hulu mirror the dvd releases of the same programs. Will they have all the episodes of everything? No. Why? Whomever owns the rights won’t release them. It’s in hulu’s interest to have as much content as possible.

Are you going to rag on iTunes for not having the Beatles next?

As for watching programs on your computer, I do it all the time. It’s called full screen and it looks great on a large computer screen.

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:19:52 +0000

I think Hulu does what it is supposed to do very well, and that is tv on the internet. As a college student who doesn’t have a snazzy TV, my computer is the next best option to watching video. Many people already watch videos from Youtube and other sites, so there’s no problem watching video on a computer screen. Hulu is just another option or outlet to watch TV for free. The commercials are only like 1 minute long, far less than what you would see on TV, and the interface is simple and easy to use. You seem to be faulting Hulu for what it wasn’t meant to do. It is just TV online for free, not a way to watch TV on your TV.