Hulu to Charge for Content – are you Buying?
Is Hulu Going to Start Charging for Service?
An executive from News Corp., owner of online video content provider Hulu, announced that Hulu will start charging for its service in the near future (likely 2010). If you fall into the camp of penny pinching techies, there’s a good possibility that you have ditched cable or satellite television in favor of some sort of Hulu/Netflix/Torrent smorgasbord.
If Hulu starts charging for content, where does that leave you? Would you <gulp> consider going back to a cable or satellite? Or would you pay for Hulu?
Hulu did offer a legit way to forego the expense of cable/satellite. I had not made the switch, but with Comcast continually raising their rates and annoying the hell out of me with their arrogance, I was strongly considering it. If you have a legitimate way of getting a similar cable/satellite experience without paying cable/satellite prices, please share!
Hulu Discussion:
- What combination of services have you used to cut out cable or satellite?
- Will you pay for Hulu if they start charging for content? Take the poll!
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I am G.E. Miller, & 
I wrote a post a week or two ago about the possibility of them charging. And what do you know… here it is.
I ditched cable because Comcast’s rates were asinine and I could not justify paying them based on how much TV I actually watch. I’ve been using a combination of the network channels streaming TV, Hulu, fancast, and others.
Not sure what I’ll do if they all convert to pay to play. I can’t see them going all or nothing, though. It would make more sense to do tier 1 = pay to view, tier 2 = free, but must wait a month after the show has aired to view. Or something similar.
We will see!
Hulu is a big part of how we’ve managed to avoid getting cable at all in our new apartment. And yes, I would pay for it! I’d much rather be paying Hulu to watch things of my choice. How much I would pay, I’m not sure.
I hope they do a pricing plan like Pandora, where you get a certain number of hours free each month (with Pandora, it’s 40), and then you have to pay to get more hours that month, or you can buy a yearly unlimited, ad-free subscription. Sounds fair to me!
I might pay for Hulu but I will never go back to Comcast. They are an awful company. The location where I had to return equipment was like a methadon clinic with people who obviously could not afford it lining up to pay their last dime to get their service back. It was heartbreaking to see.
I don’t think I’d ever pay for hulu because I don’t believe I should ever have to pay for content. I’d rather pay for a book than a tv show. Also, I hate streaming video, because every time I see the word “buffering” I get flashbacks to the 90s. I prefer to just download everything (or actually watch it on tv). One of my friends has an illegal satellite connection, and once I live on my own, I’m definitely going to do that myself. Until then, thank you mom for getting the Cablevision platinum package.
I ditched satellite several months ago and it’s been great. I have a Windows 7 computer running Media Center hooked up to the projector in my basement, which allows me to record digital over the air network stations and watch them at my leisure, which means I don’t end up using Hulu that much. Hulu is part of what I use to watch content, but I can record most of it for free over the air (and digital channels are fantastic; everything is high-def now). In addition, I do pay for Netflix and use a lot of streaming on there, which is $9/month plus I get a DVD at a time.
Whether I’ll pay to watch anything on Hulu is going to depend on them offering something additional worth paying for and what their pricing looks like. And if I’m paying them, they’d best ditch commercials.
I’m going to personally put my vote in for ‘no’, even though I currently don’t use the Hulu/other services method vs. cable. The biggest thing that I would miss with cable/satellite would be live sports. Other than going to the bar (which can be costlier than your cable subscription after just a few visits), is there any alternative to catching sporting events live? I could do without everything else and just use Netflix to watch what I want without all the commercials… but sports, I have no solution for.
I would consider paying for Hulu if the price is right but one major drawback for me is that Hulu only has the 5 most recent episodes for many TV series instead of full seasons.
Sports. On demand? Prob never happen though..
i vote for no becuase i think i can try another service like Hulu
I would consider changing as long as its not like Dish network where you can never get an english speaking person.
G.E. Miller – for sports you may be able to access live streaming of some events from ESPN. Depending on your internet provider, they may partner with ESPN to allow streaming through ESPN 360 (a link on the ESPN home page). I have watched college football and NBA games live or after the fact through an archive they maintain. They also offer a variety of sports I don’t watch (cricket, soccer, etc.). Although they don’t offer all events, I have been able to catch one’s I’ve been interested in 50% of the time.
Typically, the networks also offer replays of their shows online. Assuming the networks continue to offer the viewing for free, I would likely go to ABC, NBC, MTV, etc. to watch replays rather than paying for Hulu. Hulu offers one stop viewing but I would go through the time of accessing various websites rater than paying.
I find it astounding that society has gotten to this point … the point where it’s expected that any content on the internet should be free, or else.
Before the internet came around, you paid for things … plain and simple. If you wanted to watch a movie, you paid up. If you liked a book, you grabbed a copy and threw it on your book shelf. Sure, people would sometimes find ways to steal cable, but they knew their crime and generally kept quiet about it out of shame or fear of prosecution.
But ever since the internet popped up, the very idea of having to pay for ANYTHING has quickly become ludicrous.
I agree that cable providers often charge extremely inflated prices that are difficult (if not impossible) to justify. But as long as people are either paying for the service (or going through the trouble to steal it), then you to admit that they do truly provide something of value.
Would I pay for Hulu access? Maybe … provided the fees are proportional to my use.
Hulu erecting a pay wall will likely just lead to less people watching Hulu, not more people watching TV. Friends of mine are planning to buy a DVR now that Hulu may charge–that doesn’t sound like the outcome the pay-for-content advocates are going for. But it is the reality.
Young people are Hulu’s largest demographic, and they have college loans, rent to think about along with low paying jobs. On top of cable and internet, how much more money can they really spend on entertainment? Bottom line, they probably won’t pay for Hulu.
I really like your piece here and I actually I wrote a short piece on this topic myself-if you’re interested: http://www.thenextgreatgeneration.com/2009/11/16/hulu-gonna-buy/
Jason
It’s not a bad idea to pay for hulu if it’s worth the amount paid. They might as well should add some scheme of couple of free hours every month.