Commentary

Hulu Changes? Some Media Companies On The Outside Like Where They Sit

Trouble at Hulu may mean only one sure thing: CBS and Time Warner executives are sure to wink at you.

With Fox and ABC reportedly considering pulling some programming off the successful premium digital video service -- as well as pulling back from a potential $2 billion Hulu IPO -- CBS and Time Warner should get some credit at this point for not joining the three other major TV entities that are Hulu partners (along with media investment firm Providence Equity Partners).

Hulu has been a great vehicle for consumers. For its partners? That's another matter. So news reports suggest it is in for massive changes. And you know what that means: Not everyone believes it's going to be a great platform.

The plan is for Hulu to become a "virtual cable system" -- which puts an entirely different spin on things. For one, a cable system moniker doesn't necessarily endear you to consumers. Hulu started out as different, cool and easy, with an Apple-like product buzz. But in a rapidly changing digital media world, the toughest question is always, how can you keep up with the changes?

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Already Hulu is sending consumers mixed signals. Last year it started Hulu Plus which, other than its monthly price, doesn't seem all that different from regular old Hulu. Additionally, its TV partners have slowly added a few more commercials to their online episodes.

CBS and Time Warner believe Hulu's current form isn't meant for the long term as a business -- that it can't be a vehicle to give any network the big-time value TV shows deserve. Les Moonves, president and chief executive officer of CBS, has been harping on this point for some time.

Fox and ABC may now agree -- for some shows, anyway -- that they can do better at Netflix, the growing media company that wants to back up the money truck for the studios. That's not all. What kind of signal did it send when NBC gave some exclusive "Saturday Night Live" episodes to Netflix? Others are using Hulu for their own near-term ends: Fox, for instance, has used it to offer advertisers make-good inventory from traditional TV.

Of course, if somehow Hulu were to find a way to get its partners into a $2 billion IPO situation, or to somehow transform its business model into something completely different -- a difficult task at best -- Fox, NBC, ABC and Providence will have the last laugh. Until then everything is just a Hula around Hulu. It continues to avoid gravity -- but for how long?

1 comment about "Hulu Changes? Some Media Companies On The Outside Like Where They Sit".
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  1. Jay Oconner from World Colours Network Inc., February 2, 2011 at 12:48 p.m.

    Is there a way to strike a balance and bridge the gap between content owners, advertisers and viewers using Social TV? Can Hulu.com become a Social TV Network if it charges a subscription fee? And will viewers choose a Web Styled MSO at say $9.95 and cancel their Cable TV Subscriptions? On a very basic level many people are shifting and with the economy being what it is globally paying $30 to $90 plus bucks a month to subsidize reruns with advertisers does not make sense. Not as a viewer or consumer of the product being TV and the supporting cast of Advertisers who should be tired of SPRAY and PRAY Ad Buys.

    If you know you sell Men's Erectile Meds, why is your media buy occurring at 6 to 8 pm during dinner hour or during a children's block of programming?

    Social TV and a web based MSO might just be the way to go if HULU, Crackle or whatever you name it serves to open up the pipe for Producers so they can get more Production funded and distributed to a audience tired of Rerun after Rerun.

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About the Author

Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost. You can reach Wayne at wayne@mediapost.com.