Damn.

Hulu, at the behest of its co-parent News Corp, is going to start charging for content in 2010. This is not so good, this here news.

Here's the money quote from NewsCorpian Chase Carey, so there's no confusion:

It's time to start getting paid for broadcast content online. I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value. Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business

An optimist might interpret this as a move toward tiered access, or even the

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http://gizmodo.com/5387909/hulus-free-glory-days-are-officially-numbered

Damn, that's lame as fuck.

noooooooo

I saw an interesting question elsewhere: Does that mean that TV websites are going to charge too? Because you can totes watch most of Hulu's network content (like Comedy Central, NBC, FOX, etc) on the websites for the network. Because if not, then this just seems so dumb.

 

AllThingsD's Peter Kafka is busy dousing concerns that recent statements by News Corp's Chase Carey—that "It's time to start getting paid for broadcast content online"—mean that Hulu is going to die, dead. He makes a good point:

Hulu, the joint venture between News Corp.'s Fox, GE's NBC Universal and Disney's ABC, doesn't plan on charging people to watch the stuff it's currently airing on the site–a mix of first-run shows from broadcast TV, a limited number of cable TV shows and a smattering of movies. But Hulu is trying to figure out how to create some kind of premium offering where you'll pay for stuff that isn't on the site right now....

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http://gizmodo.com/5388745/how-a-paid-hulu-would-work

 

Hopefully it will be just premium content, being able to watch all episodes ever of a particular series, etc

It seems like they have such a good thing going, and I like their ad delivery system. They just need to figure out a way to sell the ads.

it's curtains if they start charging. most of their network television stuff can already be found on the respective channel's cable FREE on demand channels anyhow (and that's just assuming you choose the law abiding route). let them try that shit. anyone still use napster? ::crickets::