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[vicissitudes]

I'm hoping it works like this:

$9.99 a month, PC use, PS3 use (no PSN+ required), iPhone/iPad use.

Short 30 second commercials.

More networks jump on, CBS, TNT, and other cable networks.

Full back catalogs of older shows that are no longer on the air ala Arrested Development.


I was very skeptical about a paid Hulu service but honestly I wouldn't mind paying $9.99 a month for something like this. I know you are all complaining about the cost but with ESPN streaming + Hulu Plus you get: more content and huge backlog, less commercials, watch shows ON DEMAND, watch it on your PC or on the go, and it costs less. I think if they play their cards right this could change the landscape of television as we know it. I can see this happening in a few years:

Hulu Plus gets a lot more content providers behind it and really takes off. More and more 360 owners and PS3 owners get Hulu Plus (like how Netflix has gained traction). They release a cheap stand-alone box for people who don't have a console to stream on their TV. Eventually fewer and fewer people watch cable. ESPN grows as ESPN3 gains more traction and they start buying rights to all the sporting events that are shown on other networks. Hulu Plus and ESPN streaming begin to replace cable. Cable providers start going out of business, and so do cable networks. For new shows, instead of pitching to cable networks, they would pitch it directly to Hulu. Since it's much easier to track ratings, the shows that do well get renewed, and the shows that underperform don't. Cut out the network executive in the middle. TV now becomes a subscription on-demand service instead of the one we've had for decades.

 

[mooooose]

I'd pay for this if it had entire shows, all seasons. Not just select episodes.

I'd pay for this and Netflix and cancel cable.

 

[avatar299]

???

Netflix allows for unlimited streaming too. Always has. For $9 a month in fact! $1 less than Hulu. (plus remember you can rent any physical DVD you want making a 1:1 price comparison silly. Neither service streams Sopranos for instance, but you can rent the entire run from Netflix and not have to buy the box sets).

As for TV, on Netflix I watched or am watching:

- All seasons of LOST
- All seasons of Weeds
- All seasons of X-Files
- All the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes runs
- All 30 Rock
- All Red Dwarf
- Probabyl streamed ~100 movies (District 9, Back to the Future 1-3, Moon, etc etc etc).

I never said Netflix didn't. I oppose you arguing as if Hulu has a streaming cap.

Hulu works for my schedule. The reason why I'm behind on television is because i'm to busy doing things away from my T.V.. Having Hulu on mobile devices, streaming current shows I want to watch is more valuable to me than watching old shows on netflix.

 

[El Sloth]

Never mind, as it turns out I am no longer able to correctly comprehend the English language.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

I never said Netflix didn't. I oppose you arguing as if Hulu has a streaming cap.

Hulu works for my schedule. The reason why I'm behind on television is because i'm to busy doing things away from my T.V.. Having Hulu on mobile devices, streaming current shows I want to watch is more valuable to me than watching old shows on netflix.

Thank you. You get the idea behind it. Hulu is for catching up on current shows, not old ones. Catching up on old ones is just a bonus.

 

[skrew]

Why do we always speculate on stuff thats already on the op? Read the god damn thing or do you need cliff notes of three paragraphs?

 

[Buckethead]

SMH.

Why? Because they're still bending us both ways, but now to a lesser extent?

They're not delivering proper HD either.
And episodes are still going to be trailing.

It's progress, sure, but it's still relying on your connection. One they aren't providing.
Basically it's pure profit yet they still feel the need to have ads. Why? More $$$.

 

[Battlezone]

Testing it out now on my iPad. Picture quality is pretty good. If this were $10/mo per account, I might be intrigued. Somehow, I suspect it will be $10 per device, which will bum me out.

I wonder if this means Hulu is coming back to Boxee/Plex?

 

[dreamer3kx]

If it weren't the sports junkie in me I would've canceled my cable long ago, thats all I watch.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Why? Because they're still bending us both ways, but now to a lesser extent?

They're not delivering proper HD either.
And episodes are still going to be trailing.

It's progress, sure, but it's still relying on your connection. One they aren't providing.
Basically it's pure profit yet they still feel the need to have ads. Why? More $$$.

Yeah, shame on them for wanting money to pay for the shows and maintaining the site. They also have a lot of networks taking a cut of it as well. Shame on them for running a business.

 

[avatar299]

Why? Because they're still bending us both ways, but now to a lesser extent?

They're not delivering proper HD either.
And episodes are still going to be trailing.

It's progress, sure, but it's still relying on your connection. One they aren't providing.
Basically it's pure profit yet they still feel the need to have ads. Why? More $$$.

The ads are from the networks. Hulu has no control over the ads.

 

[Draft]

When you figure out how to get bandwidth charges and infrastructures down to almost $0, let us know. Until then, charging a nominal fee + ad supported services is a reasonable path to take. People talk about cable/sat charges + ads, you also do this on XM Satellite Radio, movie theaters, etc. Just because there is a subscription fee does not automatically negate the need for additional revenue unless the subscription fees can carry the service. Maybe if they charged $100 per month with no commercials?

Back OT, good to see Hulu getting in on the console side.

I'll just wait for this to fail and someone else to figure it out.

 

[noah111]

Why? Because they're still bending us both ways, but now to a lesser extent?

They're not delivering proper HD either.
And episodes are still going to be trailing.

It's progress, sure, but it's still relying on your connection. One they aren't providing.
Basically it's pure profit yet they still feel the need to have ads. Why? More $$$.

Obviously it's to make more money, but keep in mind what they're still offering for free right now, everything but 'greedy' in my opinion.

Just silly.. this service is to provide a more premium experience to those avid Hulu users, by expanding it across many platforms (portable and not). Don't like it, don't buy it, simple.

Hulu is still a great site, as long they don't slack content now that they have a subscription model. I was in the original beta, remember posting a thread about it here but no one seemed to care (yet).

 

[poppabk]

You can compare hulu to cable but that is an ignorant thing to do.

Cable and hulu are completely different things, comparing the 2 makes you look stupid.

Ignoring the similarity and the fact that Comcast owns 51% of NBC who own a third of Hulu makes you look naive.
http://mashable.com/2009/12/01/comcast-hulu/

Hulu is a direct extension of Comcasts business and Disney and Fox who, the three together own ~90% of the company.

 

[avatar299]

Obviously it's to make more money, but keep in mind what they're still offering for free right now, everything but 'greedy' in my opinion.

Just silly.. this service is to provide a more premium experience to those avid Hulu users, by expanding it across many platforms (portable and not). Don't like it, don't buy it, simple.

Hulu is still a great site, as long they don't slack content now that they have a subscription model. I was in the original beta, remember posting a thread about it here but no one seemed to care (yet).

*Shrugs* GAF has never liked hulu

 

[PhoncipleBone]

I still use the beta desktop app for all my viewing. The fact that they are still keeping the free service as is is fine.

 

[Takuan]

Canada?

 

[gerg]

Sony isn't nearly as picky about distributing things 'free' for example compared to MS. It's the reason things like iPlayer are on PS3 but still not on Xbox. I don't think Plus will change Sony's attitude on that, particularly wrt third party things. I'd be quite surprised.

You can't make that comparison, because Sony didn't have PS Plus when iPlayer moved to the PS3.

 

[jobber]

lol the press release didn't mention Vizio internet connected tvs....but yeah it's going to all internet connected tvs and no way i'm doing this. Netflix is good enough and youtube is starting to carry full shows for free.

 

[vicissitudes]

Testing it out now on my iPad. Picture quality is pretty good. If this were $10/mo per account, I might be intrigued. Somehow, I suspect it will be $10 per device, which will bum me out.

I wonder if this means Hulu is coming back to Boxee/Plex?

No way, that would be horrible. Although I can see problems with the per account route, your friends can all use your account on their devices and so on. Maybe something like a certain number of devices are allowed to register with one account.

 

[poppabk]

Hulu Plus and ESPN streaming begin to replace cable at an ever increasing price because Disney own ESPN and not coincidentally a major share in Hulu. Cable providers (comcast) start increasing prices for bandwidth and they start charging the same tiered pricing structures for the content on Hulu as they do with current cable. Cell phone providers stop having limited bandwidth plans. You end up paying more money for the same content, except now you can watch it any time you want.

Fixed for you.
Lets not pretend that Comcast, News Corp and Disney are just gonna start playing nice and saving people money.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

No way, that would be horrible. Although I can see problems with the per account route, your friends can all use your account on their devices and so on. Maybe something like a certain number of devices are allowed to register with one account.

That might be the way to go. Or just one of each device. A separate fee per device would just be insane.

 

[tirminyl]

Premium ad-support service? Huh?

I won't be canceling my Cable anytime soon. I need my racing, and other stuff that aren't available via Netflix or Hulu.

I would like if PlayStation + members got a $2 discount off the monthly subscription

 

[Fox Mulder]

Hulu Plus gets a lot more content providers behind it and really takes off. More and more 360 owners and PS3 owners get Hulu Plus (like how Netflix has gained traction). They release a cheap stand-alone box for people who don't have a console to stream on their TV. Eventually fewer and fewer people watch cable. ESPN grows as ESPN3 gains more traction and they start buying rights to all the sporting events that are shown on other networks. Hulu Plus and ESPN streaming begin to replace cable. Cable providers start going out of business, and so do cable networks. For new shows, instead of pitching to cable networks, they would pitch it directly to Hulu. Since it's much easier to track ratings, the shows that do well get renewed, and the shows that underperform don't. Cut out the network executive in the middle. TV now becomes a subscription on-demand service instead of the one we've had for decades.

The cable industry will have to change, but the giants like Time Warner and Comcast will go nowhere. They'll just make more money off internet usage, and probably move towards buying more studios to secure quality content.

 

[jmdajr]

no thanks.

I hope this is useful to someone though

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Was really expecting MS to jump on this first...seems like Sony is trying a bit harder these days or Hulu and MS couldn't figure things out sooner. At $9.99/mo, though...no way. Too steep when I can just stick with Netflix renting show DVDs and watch a still-decent and growing selection of streaming TV on Instant Watch.

 

[vicissitudes]

Fixed for you.
Lets not pretend that Comcast, News Corp and Disney are just gonna start playing nice and saving people money.

Fine, that's possible, but considering how many people are complaining about $9.99 I don't really see Hulu going cable prices (what, $39.99 a month or something?) anytime soon, even with doubling or tripling the content.

 

[SuperPac]

The app's up for iPhone/iPad.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hulu-plus/id376510438?mt=8

I like the interface so far. Nice tease to show you content you can't actually watch unless you're a paying customer.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

The app's up for iPhone/iPad.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hulu-plus/id376510438?mt=8

I like the interface so far. Nice tease to show you content you can't actually watch unless you're a paying customer.

I wish it had controls like the beta desktop app. Stream quality selection, volume adjustment, and a menu to move between shows from the one show.

 

[tirminyl]

Was really expecting MS to jump on this first...seems like Sony is trying a bit harder these days or Hulu and MS couldn't figure things out sooner.

Microsoft is probably customizing your experience by giving you a virtual Hulu room with a couch and avatars and replicated Kinect device so you can use Kinect to kinect with your avatar and watch them kinect with kinect to select a show.

Seriously, they did say they are customizing the experience for their Gold members so it won't be available until early 2011.

 

[poppabk]

Fine, that's possible, but considering how many people are complaining about $9.99 I don't really see Hulu going cable prices (what, $39.99 a month or something?) anytime soon, even with doubling or tripling the content.

They won't go cable prices until people start giving up their cable for Hulu. Once people are reliant on it, then the prices will slowly drift up. At the moment most people are considering Hulu+ alongside cable, so of course $10 sounds like a lot.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Fine, that's possible, but considering how many people are complaining about $9.99 I don't really see Hulu going cable prices (what, $39.99 a month or something?) anytime soon, even with doubling or tripling the content.

no, but it'll rise slowly just like cable did. Networks like FOX and ABC will start to demand more money for their precious content. Comedy Central was pulled off Hulu recently for failing to reach a new agreement.

 

[blame space]

so how long until Netflix loses a bunch of TV content?

 

[EviLore]

Monthly subscription fee but retains ads? No thanks.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I called it:

My prediction: Hulu comes to consoles and handheld devices but ONLY premium service, no free content on these platforms.

Recent episodes stay free on PCs forever, with the option for the premium service.

If you can authorize several devices like Netflix, I'll pick this up when I get an iPad and will use it on PS3 in the home theater and on my iPhone on the go.

 

[WaltJay]

I'd pay $20/month if it also included HBO's current and back catalog.

 

[Vox-Pop]

Hulu is cool because it's free. But ten bucks with ads, no way. I rather pay for netflix. Movie selection needs work too.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

will there be a delay between when a show airs and when Hulu Plus gets it?

I'd think that shows not being aired live (like awards events) would be made available in parallel with the network broadcasts, while regular Hulu (free) users are forced to wait a couple of days.

?

 

[koam]

The whole point of paying is to not get ads, pass

Spoiler

because i'm in canada

 

[JordanLMiller]

Paying for ads... What will they think of next?

 

[freemantim]

Timed PS3 exclusive?

Also, the price is a bit much when my Netflix is the same and has 100% more content.

Netflix doesn't have the same TV content that Hulu has....yet.

 

[infinityBCRT]

and Canadians shed a tear.

 

[SuperPac]

Paying for ads... What will they think of next?

You pay for cable, cable channels have ads.
You pay for movie tickets, and they have ads beforehand.
You pay for a magazine, they have ads.
You pay for a newspaper, they have ads.
You buy a DVD/blu-ray, they have ads for other movies by the studio and a lot of time advertising inserts for other related products.
You pay for Xbox Live, it has plenty of ads.

Not new.

 

[snitsky]

No tears, I'd say most Canadians are used to being second class citizens by now.

 

[Killthee]

Hulu Plus on Xbox will be a 'custom experience', restricted to Xbox Live Gold members
by JC Fletcher on Jun 29th 2010 3:28PM

Following Hulu's announcement of its new pay service, which will support devices like the PS3, Xbox 360, and iPhone, Microsoft filled us in on a bit of info about the Xbox version of Hulu Plus. Most importantly, Microsoft is continuing its ongoing quest to make Xbox Live Silver members feel deep shame, by making the Hulu Plus service on Xbox available only to those with an Xbox Live Gold account.

For the extra cash, though, Microsoft promises that this won't be a straight port. Instead, "Hulu Plus on Xbox 360 will take advantage of the social connectivity possible with our 25 million member Xbox Live community as well as the magic of Kinect for Xbox 360." So we'll break it down for you: While PS3 owners can enjoy Hulu Plus as early as next month, Xbox owners will have to wait until "early 2011" to get "controller-free navigation" with Kinect and Xbox Live Party support, so your Xbox Live friends can refuse your invitations to watch Quantum Leap together.

Full statement from Microsoft after the break.

The entertainment options on Xbox 360 continue to grow. Today, Hulu announced that its new subscription service, Hulu Plus, will be available on Xbox 360.

We're incredibly excited to bring Hulu Plus and its amazing library of entertainment to Xbox LIVE. Hulu Plus joins our ever-expanding entertainment offerings on Xbox 360, which currently includes Netflix, Last.fm and Zune Video. Starting this November, Xbox 360 will also be the only console to deliver 3500 live sporting events from ESPN3.com.

Like ESPN, Hulu Plus on Xbox 360 will take advantage of the social connectivity possible with our 25 million member Xbox LIVE community as well as the magic of Kinect for Xbox 360. We are committed to delivering signature features to the Hulu Plus experience on Xbox 360, like controller-free navigation with Kinect and Xbox LIVE Parties so you can watch with friends no matter where they are. These are custom entertainment experiences for Xbox 360 that you can't find anywhere else. More details will be announced at a later time.​

​

 

[Fun Factor]

$10 bucks a month for something that was completely free until they locked out the PS3 browser a few months back?

Fuck you hulu.

 

[LumpOfCole]

It would be a good deal if they could get more content. TNT, Comedy Central, TBS for Conan, etc. I can't see myself paying $10 a month for less than half the television content I want. Some of the cloud-based subscription and bookmark features look good.

If you think about it, $10 a month for on-demand television with current shows/seasons is an awfully good deal. The commercials aren't terrible (30 seconds versus 2 minutes on standard TV? I don't think it's valid to complain about that). It just needs more content for it to be a worthwhile service.

 

[dyls]

So there's free content for the iPhone but not the iPad? I guess content providers don't just consider this thing a big iPod touch then. Shit, our arguments were too good.

edit: The ad I saw (at the beginning of an episode) was only about 4 seconds. I can handle that.

edit 2: Ok, just found the free section for the iPad. I dumb.

 

[infinityBCRT]

No tears, I'd say most Canadians are used to being second class citizens by now.

Thing is, its more of a failure of MS Canada than MS IMO. They should be the ones pushing hard for these things.

They have some really stupid stuff going on with Windows Media Centre when it comes to Canada as well. They are blocking access for Canadians to use it with their HD OTA tuners (which makes NO sense) and only with hacks can Canadians get the full features of Windows Media Centre.

 

[Xeke]

Cable channels > Network channels.