NBC's Jeff Zucker seems exceptionally bearish about the Web these days. In a lunchtime keynote address at the UBS global media conference today, he said that online ad growth at sites like Hulu.com
had proved disappointing recently.
"That marketplace has really, really slowed dramatically," Zucker told the audience. "It's still a growth area, but I don't think it's what we thought it
would be."
Consider, FT.com reported recently that the site took in an estimated $70 million since launching one year ago,
and was on track to overtake YouTube in revenue.
What's more, the current economic meltdown could spur huge growth at Web TV sites, if consumers with broadband decide they can no longer
justify the cost of paying for cable TV.
Already some cable companies are taking steps to stem defections from cost-conscious subscribers. Comcast executive vice president Dave Watson
spoke this morning at the UBS conference about a new discount plan that offers 50 video channels, and additional music channels, for around $30 a month. If such discounted plans aren't enough to keep
consumers paying the cable fees, Hulu.com and other Web TV sites could be poised to grow their viewership -- and, presumably, their ad revenues -- much faster than anticipated.