Hulu is changing its business model, charging $9.99 a month to view older content. You'll still be able to catch recent episodes of your favorite shows, much like you can on the individual broadcast networks' sites. But if you want to see last season, for example, they'll make you pay. And, you'll still have to watch ads.
There's been a lot of buzz in the broadcast industry over this issue for months. Hulu was reportedly profitable, just not immensely profitable. And, with the impending sale of NBC (which owns Hulu) to a Cable TV provider that has been involved in efforts to establish a subscription model online, there were rumors that Hulu would be stop online broadcasting altogether.
I wonder whether this business model will work? Is it really worth $120/year, on top of your cable bill and your Netflix subscription, to be able to stream TV online? Right now, Hulu gets a tremendous amount of traffic and has terrific word of mouth. I wonder whether that will continue now that it's a pay service?
There's been a lot of buzz in the broadcast industry over this issue for months. Hulu was reportedly profitable, just not immensely profitable. And, with the impending sale of NBC (which owns Hulu) to a Cable TV provider that has been involved in efforts to establish a subscription model online, there were rumors that Hulu would be stop online broadcasting altogether.
I wonder whether this business model will work? Is it really worth $120/year, on top of your cable bill and your Netflix subscription, to be able to stream TV online? Right now, Hulu gets a tremendous amount of traffic and has terrific word of mouth. I wonder whether that will continue now that it's a pay service?