Hulu To Require Viewers To Have Cable Subscriptions 648
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the nice-knowing-you dept.
from the nice-knowing-you dept.
The NY Post reports that Hulu, the video streaming service with over 30 million users, has plans to force those users to prove they have a subscription to cable or satellite TV if they want to keep watching. Quoting:
"The move toward authentication is fueled by cable companies and networks looking to protect and profit from their content. The effort comes as entertainment companies continue to face drastic shifts in home viewing habits. Overall spending on home entertainment edged up 2.5 percent to $4.45 billion in the first quarter as a surge in digital streaming — which rose more than fivefold to $549 million — offset a continuing collapse in video rentals, according to Digital Entertainment Group. ... Hulu racked up some $420 million in ad revenue last year and is expected to do well in this year’s ad negotiations. But the move toward authentication, which could take years to complete, will make cable companies happy because it could slow cord-cutting by making cable subscribing more attractive."
Bye bye Hulu! (Score:5, Informative)
I didn't really need you before, I sure don't need you now.
Hello, Bittorrent!
Re:Bye Bye Hulu! (Score:5, Informative)
Well I was tossing between hulu and netflix after I cut the cord. But they just made my decision all the easier.
Re:Not related (Score:5, Informative)
Collusion nothing. Hulu is 1/3rd owned by Comcast, by way of their 51% ownership of NBCUniversal.
Re:Good luck with that. (Score:5, Informative)
Hulu was never independent. Look up who their FOUNDERS are.
Hulu is a joint venture of NBCUniversal (Comcast/General Electric),[5] Fox Entertainment Group (News Corp) and Disney-ABC Television Group (The Walt Disney Company),[6] with funding by Providence Equity Partners, the owner of Newport Television, which made a US$100 million equity investment and received a 10% stake.[7]
- wiki [wikipedia.org]
Farewell Hulu? More Like, "Who?lu?" (Score:5, Informative)
I suspect this page will be filled with tons of "lol everyone will leave" comments.
I left Hulu ages ago. The ads (and long pauses when I blocked them) became more obnoxious and numerous, the library of free content was shit or untimely (or both), and the premium content? Why would I pay for shit I already pay for on cable/Netflix (when I had it)/Amazon Prime?
I haven't touched Hulu in ages and I bet they're counting me as one of the 30 million users.
I watch enough shit (and want it now and in good quality) to justify a cable subscription (with HBO and some other craps).
I order enough shit from Amazon to justify Prime (which comes with a shitty video service).
I cut Netflix off long ago.
Why would I pay for Hulu or put up with tons of ads alongside a shitty library, shitty quality, and release delays?
The only way I would pay for Hulu is if I cut off my cable service. I see this as a viable option for many who don't have the same concerns/impatience as me.
But if they want to require them to stump up a cable subscription on top of the cost of Hulu Plus / the annoyances of Hulu, they've got a big surprise coming.
Of course, they've done the math and figured out that X% will leave and (1-X)% will stay. But I think some PHBs have been conned into believing a bullshit statistic of 30 million users. I couldn't name 2 people I know who use Hulu if you put a gun to my head.
This is genius (Score:5, Informative)
Hulu is getting harassed by the studios so they're either going to have to jack up their prices, eliminate content, or do something like proving you already pay.
The the third option is actually brilliant. Think about it. How many of you know a friend or family member that will never use Hulu? How many of them have satellite or cable? At least one. So borrow their information to get access. It's not like they need it.
This is genius. My estimation of the wisdom of Hulu just went up a notch. Millions of people without cable can very easy get the authentication information to claim they do. And then the studios are in the position of trying to cut off people that supposedly are already paying. Genius.
In related news... (Score:2, Informative)
Hulu's outside investors have decided this is the straw that broke the camel's back and have sold their remaining stake before it drops through the floor...
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/04/hulu-providence-equity-stake-200-million.html
Re:Good luck with that. (Score:4, Informative)
Who is this Providence Equity and where do I subscribe to their newsletter?
Their newsletter is right here! http://www.provequity.com/news/index.asp?Section=0,3,1&
Re:In that case... (Score:5, Informative)
USENET it is.
Usenet
Sabnzbd
SickBeard
CouchPotato
XBMC - Or other HTPC
If you can get these 5 things working together (it isn't hard trust me) you never need cable again (unless you're a sports fan which I am). Completely automated, maxes out your internet connection and can be completely SSL. All for around $10-15 a month.
Re:Forget BitTorrent (Score:5, Informative)
That story was bullshit. Of course, any negative rumor, once started, is forever after assumed to have been true.
Re:Of course (Score:2, Informative)
you should never neglect art because of the shite the dealers pull.
Re:no. (Score:4, Informative)
You can also always get an HDHomeRun from SiliconDust, which is a HDTV->IP converter; one end plugs into an HD antenna, the other end into your network with ethernet. You can than pull the stream (two tuners) to an iPad, iPhone, VLC, or any other device/software that can read the IPTV stream. I put one in the datacenter I've got gear at ($60 purchase, free colo), bought my wife the iPad app for $4, and now she can watch TV on her iPad anywhere in the world (Chicago TV).
Re:Of course (Score:5, Informative)
Besides, speaking of which, how exactly does Hulu intend to compete with the cableco's own online/streaming features?
They don't. From the Wikipedia article [wikipedia.org]:
Hulu is a joint venture of NBCUniversal (Comcast/General Electric),[5] Fox Entertainment Group (News Corp) and Disney-ABC Television Group (The Walt Disney Company)
So Hulu is owned by the same old-media companies that want to keep the cable companies going. Hulu was not built to compete. Hulu was built as a hedge.