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REPORT: Hulu will require cable subscription in a few years

PTBoardOp94 said:
According to an anonymous insider at Hulu, Big Content is trying to force a day when Hulu users will need to prove they have an active cable or satellite TV subscription to view shows on Hulu.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/30/rumor-hulu-will-soon-require-viewers-to-have-a-cable-subscription/

An interesting development, isn't it?
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Gives me a reason to never look at Hulu for any shows. For some shows, I have visited the networks' sites to watch the show for free. I just hope that doesn't end up a subscription service too, or I won't bother with internet TV. I'll just find something else to do when I wouldn't be watching TV (or internet TV).
 
I think it's just a matter of time before the networks start charging to watch shows on their websites. If they find that fewer and fewer people are watching on TV, they'll need some way to increase (or maintain) their bottom line.
 
ansky212 said:
I think it's just a matter of time before the networks start charging to watch shows on their websites. If they find that fewer and fewer people are watching on TV, they'll need some way to increase (or maintain) their bottom line.
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^^This. TV Networks need to find a new way to pay for content, and that is no longer being 100% funded by advertising. Now that an advertiser can micro target people with internet ads at a fraction of the cost, more and more advertisers are choosing not to take a gamble on these "catch all" shows aired by OTA broadcasters, or even most general entertainment cable channels. And it makes perfect sense. If all I want as an advertiser is a tech friendly male demographic from 25-35, why would I waste my money targeting the other 90% of the market that has no interest in my product, and never will?

So, increasingly, networks have had to cut costs, and make a product that just isn't as good. So the better content goes to cable, which already has two streams of revenue. And as people cut that, either the networks will have to respond by cutting costs on production, or find other sources of revenue.
 
They've got some technical work to do before they start considering their websites as a major means of distribution...

I should say, I'm speaking only of CBS but...

For the last couple of months, I've been watching a CBS program time-shifted on cbs.com.

The program itself generally looks & sounds great. It's SD, but it's very good SD with no compression artifacts or audio issues. The only issue I have with the program itself has been that on some occasions they haven't updated the online episode until the next day. (most days, the episode that was on the air five hours earlier is on the web when I go to watch it. Twice, clicking there delivered the previous week's episode; the new episode didn't show up until the next day. Unfortunately, one of those times it was the series finale & I inadvertently read about the outcome before viewing the show :) )

The problem has been with the commercials! Sometimes the technical quality is noticeably poorer than the program. Sometimes (almost every break!) the number of commercials delivered is fewer than planned. (the commercials seem to load from a different server, and at the beginning of the break the player *says* how many commercials you're going to see - usually 3.) Sometimes the commercials are upcut.

What I find to be truly annoying, is that they apparently occasionally sell a commercial that was produced for the Web only; it's framed within some links you can click for more information. Problem is, when one of those commercials comes on, the player pops out of full-screen mode & doesn't go back in when the commercial is over. You have to manually return it to full-screen. (they should note this means I'm not paying attention to the next advertiser, as I'm spending his airtime walking to the computer & putting it back in full-screen...)

None of this is fatal, but it does suggest they don't yet believe a significant part of their audience is watching online.
 
w9wi said:
The program itself generally looks & sounds great. It's SD, but it's very good SD with no compression artifacts or audio issues. The only issue I have with the program itself has been that on some occasions they haven't updated the online episode until the next day. (most days, the episode that was on the air five hours earlier is on the web when I go to watch it. Twice, clicking there delivered the previous week's episode; the new episode didn't show up until the next day. Unfortunately, one of those times it was the series finale & I inadvertently read about the outcome before viewing the show :) )

The problem has been with the commercials! Sometimes the technical quality is noticeably poorer than the program. Sometimes (almost every break!) the number of commercials delivered is fewer than planned. (the commercials seem to load from a different server, and at the beginning of the break the player *says* how many commercials you're going to see - usually 3.) Sometimes the commercials are upcut.

What I find to be truly annoying, is that they apparently occasionally sell a commercial that was produced for the Web only; it's framed within some links you can click for more information. Problem is, when one of those commercials comes on, the player pops out of full-screen mode & doesn't go back in when the commercial is over. You have to manually return it to full-screen. (they should note this means I'm not paying attention to the next advertiser, as I'm spending his airtime walking to the computer & putting it back in full-screen...)

None of this is fatal, but it does suggest they don't yet believe a significant part of their audience is watching online.
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The same is true of On Demand - at least from Comcast cable. A new episode of a series may show up the next day (after airing on the network), or not for 3 or 4 days. The first day or so, the original commericals will still be there. After that, they typically insert On Demand only commercials. CBS inserts only promos for other CBS shows, Fox puts in commercials for personal injury attorneys and repeats them every commercial break. It's quite painful to sit through. Also, some networks are disabling fast forward so you have to sit through the commercials, but other still left you fast forward through the commercial break.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
there's always bittorent, just turn off the uploads and use a proxy server
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Which works fine until enough people do it that it no longer makes financial sense to create new content. Then there will be nothing to download OR watch on TV.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
there's always bittorent, just turn off the uploads and use a proxy server
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That was actually the point of launching Hulu to begin with, wasn't it? Stamping out piracy AND profiting from online usage of TV content.
 
Nate Wesley said:
nomadcowatbk said:
there's always bittorent, just turn off the uploads and use a proxy server
Click to expand...

That was actually the point of launching Hulu to begin with, wasn't it? Stamping out piracy AND profiting from online usage of TV content.
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but they won't pay for it
 
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/tv_in_real_dime_ph0GiKk7rC9agDUEkHae2I

This model sucks! But I understand. Why Should HULU require people to sign up for cable. This is Phony. Why can't Hulu simply model themselves after live365 did for audio broadcasting. I know for live 365 theres a VIP fee to access certain radio stations on the live365 site and a DJ fee to start a channel on the site. If you go to the free channels on live 365 there will be advertising on those channels.
 
Some cable networks are pretty much already doing this; if you want to view TNT's original shows on their website or phone app (as well as with ESPN), you have to be a subscriber of a participating cable/satellite provider (if you subscribe to one of the big companies, you're good to go...unless you're a DirecTV subscriber [such as myself], then you can't get use the Watch ESPN app/website). The premium networks, especially HBO, Cinemax, and Starz require the same.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
there's always bittorent, just turn off the uploads and use a proxy server
Click to expand...

True but a new agreement between the major ISPs and Hollywood is coming in July and it means more people will have to use VPN which of course costs. And if you're gonna pay for VPN, why not just pay for the programs?
 
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