Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Hulu prepping Apple iPad app, sources say

*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Original poster
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/technology/01hulu.html

Hulu prepping Apple iPad app, sources say
Tuesday, April 20, 2010

"Hulu, the popular and free online video hub, has some things to celebrate as it heads into its third year," Brian Stelter and Brad Stone report for The New York Times.

"The site, a venture of NBC Universal, the News Corporation and the Walt Disney Company, has been profitable for two quarters, Jason Kilar, Hulu’s chief executive, said in an interview on Monday," Stelter and Stone report. "Hulu has successfully brought online TV into the mainstream."

"And now it appears set to move beyond standard computer screens with an application for Apple’s iPad, four people briefed on its plans said," Stelter and Stone report. "People briefed on Hulu’s plan believe it may test the subscription approach with its iPad app. They could not say when such an application might be available."

Stelter and Stone report, "Mr. Kilar declined to talk about any future Hulu products, but he waxed enthusiastic about the coming wave of ultra-portable tablet computers like the iPad. 'Typically media consumption in the house was confined to the living room or home office,' he said. Tablets, he added, 'allow consumers to serendipitously discover and consume media in every room of the house.'"
 
B

barkomatic

macrumors 601
Aug 8, 2008
4,520
2,821
Manhattan
I'm not excited about Hulu subscriptions. Essentially, all Hulu does is consolidate the *free* streaming TV from network and cable websites in one place. They have a few exclusives, but not enough for a subscription. I think the major networks will eventually have individual iPad apps like ABC soon so I'll pass on Hulu if I have to pay a monthly fee for it. I got rid of cable for a reason.
 
anthonymoody

anthonymoody

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2002
3,060
1,151
chstr said:
subscription=no sale

why pay for what you can get for free?
Click to expand...

Well the integration can be helpful, if truly integrated. And, if the subscriptions is ad-free then it might be attractive.

But agreed - if the primary offerings are otherwise identical and available for free, then why bother with a subscription?

BTW I'm still fecking PSYCHED for this.
 
B

Bodhi395

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2008
817
0
I'll pay for the Hulu app itself, a one time price like say 4.99, but I refuse to get a subscription, unless there are no ads in the videos and they greatly improve the library so you can watch full seasons of many shows.

No one likes subscriptions and I think if they don't do this right, it will fail.
 
D

drjsway

macrumors 6502a
Jan 8, 2009
936
2
chstr said:
subscription=no sale

why pay for what you can get for free?
Click to expand...

Networks get substantially more money from advertisers if you watch it on TV. If everyone stopped watching TV and switched to Hulu, none of the big budget shows you love will exist.

So the question is, would you rather pay a fee or be forced to watch 20 minutes of commercials every hour?
 
B

bgribin

macrumors regular
Apr 16, 2010
138
0
It depends on what content is available for subscribers, but I'd pay a few bucks a month for Hulu on the iPad.
 
B

barkomatic

macrumors 601
Aug 8, 2008
4,520
2,821
Manhattan
drjsway said:
Networks get substantially more money from advertisers if you watch it on TV. If everyone stopped watching TV and switched to Hulu, none of the big budget shows you love will exist.

So the question is, would you rather pay a fee or be forced to watch 20 minutes of commercials every hour?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind being forced to watch the same amount of commericals that appear on TV. I understand good shows cost money. The benefit for advertisers on the iPad is that inevitably, Apple will detect my browsing and buying activity to have me watch specific ads that match my interests. Likely, it will be ads for gadgets and bikes. lol

What I'm ticked off about is the prospect of being forced to watch ads *and* pay a subcription--like cable. Don't like that model at all.
 
D

drjsway

macrumors 6502a
Jan 8, 2009
936
2
Bodhi395 said:
I'll pay for the Hulu app itself, a one time price like say 4.99, but I refuse to get a subscription, unless there are no ads in the videos and they greatly improve the library so you can watch full seasons of many shows.

No one likes subscriptions and I think if they don't do this right, it will fail.
Click to expand...

They don't care if it fails. The networks' first priority is to get people to watch on TV. The brief ads on Hulu cannot support these big budget TV shows.

Hulu was created to deter people from downloading torrents. They make nowhere near as much money from Hulu viewers as live television viewers. But they realized that they would make no money at all if people downloaded torrents.

What incentive would they have to offer Hulu for free on a device that can't download torrents anyway? Not only that, with 3G models, the iPad is more convenient than TV. Instead of getting revenue from people that would otherwise pirate, they would now be losing real TV viewers, their real source of profit.
.
 
Roessnakhan

Roessnakhan

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2007
3,518
510
ABQ
If its just Hulu on the iPad, ads and all, then I'm fine. Add a subscription and I don't get it - I'll just use Air Video + utorrent.
 
I

ipadking

macrumors member
Mar 30, 2010
57
0
CA
I would'nt mind paying $4.99 a month, if the Hulu apps has the ability to cache or download the shows, so that I can watch on an airplane. If I'm at home, I'll watch TV on my 65" LCD. On the road, 3g, would'nt have enough bandwidth. But if Hulu allows me to download the shows and watch them while traveling, I'll be glad to hand over my $4.99 per month.
 
D

drjsway

macrumors 6502a
Jan 8, 2009
936
2
Roessnakhan said:
If its just Hulu on the iPad, ads and all, then I'm fine. Add a subscription and I don't get it - I'll just use Air Video + utorrent.
Click to expand...

It astounds me how many people are willing to talk about doing illegal activities on a public internet forum.
 
M

mklnk

macrumors regular
Apr 14, 2010
154
0
I would pay $8 per month for commercial free hulu on my ipad. No more.

Edit: I would pay hulu $15 a month for the ability to use it with ANY device I own (PS3).
 
B

Bodhi395

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2008
817
0
drjsway said:
It astounds me how many people are willing to talk about doing illegal activities on a public internet forum.
Click to expand...

Why are people always so shocked when someone mentions using torrents, like they just admitted they killed someone??

Isn't the use of torrents pretty much a mainstream thing nowadays?

Also, downloading a tv show that was aired for FREE on a broadcast network from a torrent doesn't seem like that bad a thing to me.
 
gwynne

gwynne

macrumors 68000
Mar 11, 2010
1,816
8
drjsway said:
It astounds me how many people are willing to talk about doing illegal activities on a public internet forum.
Click to expand...

Meh, it's just television shows, most of which are delivered free over the air or on the company's own websites (or Hulu). It's not like people are blithely passing around serial keys for Adobe CS Master Suite or something.
 
Roessnakhan

Roessnakhan

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2007
3,518
510
ABQ
drjsway said:
It astounds me how many people are willing to talk about doing illegal activities on a public internet forum.
Click to expand...

Well you're implying, I never explicitly stated anything illegal. Unless you wanted to get into a debate that nothing can be transmitted legitimately over bittorrent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom