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Hulu Reportedly Prepping Subscription Service for May 24th Launch, iPad App Coming Soon?
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I'm willing to pay for content, but it needs to have the following:
1) Live NFL games, as in streamed in real time.
2) Shows available as soon as they are broadcast on the east coast.
3) I want live streaming - I don't want a bunch of videos on vh1classic.com, I want to able to watch VH1 classic on my device.
4) I want to be able to pay for the specific channels I want... ESPN, NFL, PBS, the local networks, maybe a handful of others.
I'm sick of paying so much money for 800 worthless channels. I need 12 tops.
1) Live NFL games, as in streamed in real time.
2) Shows available as soon as they are broadcast on the east coast.
3) I want live streaming - I don't want a bunch of videos on vh1classic.com, I want to able to watch VH1 classic on my device.
4) I want to be able to pay for the specific channels I want... ESPN, NFL, PBS, the local networks, maybe a handful of others.
I'm sick of paying so much money for 800 worthless channels. I need 12 tops.
Is there any difference in the amount of movies/shows provided by one service over the other?
No, I get mind online for free.
Well, here's the problem. See, the "last 5 eps" are still free on Hulu. "Every episode from every previous season" is already included in a $10/mo NetFlix subscription (which also just happens to offer streaming or mail delivery of every movie imaginable to every device you can think of, oh yeah, including iPad). "Every episode from this season" is also included in taht selfsame NetFlix account, but for select shows (which I still can't find listed outside their subscriber walls ... gotta subscribe to Netflix to see what shows are available for next-day viewing?).
So, Hulu's $10/mo subscription allows access to:
1. Episodes which aired this season (or the DVD has not yet come out) And Are not already covered by NetFlix instant view
2. A small catalog of remnant movies and documentaries, in sub-VHS quality
In comparison, the $10/mo subscription to Netflix allows access to:
1. Every movie ever made in DVD quality (or streaming in significantly better-than-Hulu quality)
2. And everything available on every device imaginable (Wii! iPad!)
2. And everything in significantly higher quality than Hulu
3. And no ads
To top it all off, the 'episodes from the current season but more than five eps back for series which NetFlix doesn't stream' gap can be filled in on a per-episode basis of $2/ep by iTunes itself, for the handful of times a year it is wanted/needed.
As a result, Hulu at $10/mo makes sense only for people who do not have Netflix already (and do not watch movies), enjoy crappy quality streaming with ads (I'm assuming here ... perhaps the streaming quality for Hulu Plus will also get an upgrade), and who buy more than five episodes of current-season shows which aired more than five episodes back.
Even for your stated usecase (picking up a show halfway through the season): unless you do this with multiple shows every month (again, you can get 5 episodes of any series from iTunes for the same price as one month of Hulu) then Hulu Plus doesn't make sense. I'd argue that if this is happening to you more than once or twice a year (perhaps 20 eps you have to buy because they are outside the Hulu window ... which, again, is equivalent to just 4 months of Hulu Plus access), you are in a distinct minority.
Folks needing this for 60 or more episodes per year (12 months of Hulu Plus) would be rare indeed. That's just shy of three whole series being "caught up" in the window between the eps falling off the Hulu window ans the DVDs coming out for them over the summer. Granted, for them, it's a great deal. I just don't think there are enough of those folks around to sustain Hulu as a business.
Given that people were paying $15-20/month for the movie DVDs-shipped-to-your-doorstop part of NetFlix before NetFlix added in the instant streaming option (that Hulu now thinks is worth $10/mo on its own) .... yeah, there's far more than $0.95 difference in the services, and the NetFlix service is on the "more valuable" side of that comparison.
Like it or not, NetFlix has set a high bar for how much content and what mix (current/recent/old) can be gotten for under $10 a month; paying more for less from Hulu is not a value proposition.
I don't know Hulu, but I know Hollywood industry and the recent episodes are selling recent products- they're already paid for by advertisers. Charging for current episodes means less viewers and ultimately, less money for advertisers.
Old TV show episodes (if the commercials haven't been edited out) are essentially giving old advertisers a free ride, which is why some companies don't seem to care that their show in streamed freely on YouTube,but that's about to change forever...
It's important to understand that TV is paid for by advertisers and they ultimately call the shots. The real interesting part (and this is where the big money comes in) is the technology to serve commercials digitally in real time. Unlike a VHS, DVD or file downloaded, the commercials are not hard copied into the show, allowing complete flexibility to broadcasters to pull non-paying advertisers with a few clicks, as well as give control to advertisers to switch from low-producing shows at will. This will completely change the way advertising contracts are written up.
Personally, I don't believe in paying for magazines or TV (even cable) - that's for advertisers to do. If they can get 9.99 outta you shmucks, so be it, it's a free country.
1: No, not all movies are Watch it Now. Moreover, some that are now Watch-it-Now move to non- streaming status on a regular basis.
2. No, the iPhone and iPod Touch, which number in the tens of millions, are not compatible...yet.
TV shows aren't mastered w/commercials in them. The commercials are rolled-in live when the show airs which is why when you watch reruns of "Star Trek", for example, you aren't seeing commercials from the 1960's. Also, YouTube has been sued six ways from Sunday for airing copyrighted material so I'm not sure why you think they haven't.
Again, commercials are already rolled-in live to streaming and broadcast shows. What VHS or DVD copies of shows have you purchased that have commercials in them?
While you are correct that the costs of the TV shows are ad supported the ad rates for online are significantly smaller than the ad rates for broadcast. For example, Hulu is fighting to break even though all they do is stream very popular TV shows. If Hulu actually had to cover the costs of producing the shows it streams the site would be an massive failure (or have to charge a significantly higher fee than what they are already contemplating).
Lethal
Ridiculous. I would say the Netflix streaming selection is excellent.
You're doing something wrong.
$4.99 would be a good price. I won't be paying $9.99 for a subscription to Hulu. I love watching Movies and TV Shows on Hulu but $9.99 is way too high for me.
That's Hula's problem and they should probably renegotiate.
The effectiveness of internet advertising can be measured more accurately by clicks and impressions than tv, there's no reason they should be getting less just because they're internet based. If there's people watching it, they should be making money. What I DO know is that it needs to be either free or adserved, but not both. It will kill them.
Renegotiate with what leverage? You previously said the advertisers ultimately call the shots and I think that's very true in this situation.
You get less, in part, because the internet is seen as less prestigious and it is nearly ubiquitous. The space on TV is inherently limited where as the space on the internet is quite the opposite. Hulu is actually doing great by internet standards in terms of ad sales. It's the site to beat in that regard even though it only does 1/10 the traffic of YouTube. Even so the money it generates is just 'web money' and not 'tv money'. Hulu generated around $100 million in 2009 where as TV generated around $15 billion... and that was down from 2008.
Internet ad sales continue to grow though, and are predicted by some to double year-over-year but they are still a long way from hitting 'old media' numbers.
Lethal
I watch netflix streaming outside of Stars shows, the number of shows that have current season streaming could probably be counted on a single hand. So it is not Apples and oranges. This change by hulu will be sure to eliminated fox and nbc shows from this in the future. (Fox doesn't have any current seasons streaming, and if NBC does it is only the office).
Netflix has a lot of massive content holes. It has gotten better, but I am not convinced it will ever be complete. So short of that I am looking for options to fill out that completeness. I just started watching season 7 of 24 on Netflix streaming. Also season 1 of Bones. When I catch up to the current season on both shows, I will have to wait for quite a while before it will show up on Netflix streaming.
Or I could go to hulu and watch the current seasons when I am done with netflix.
I think this is a very good package to take in tandem with netflix streaming. Neither is perfect, but together they would provide a ton of on-demand content for ~20.00 total.
Ultimately we will have to see what happens with Hulu. The subscription basis might allow them to provide a wider ranger of content. When Netflix streaming started to grow they have gotten more and more content. Netflix had to sacrifice dvd day releases of new movies in exchange for more streaming content. I am all in favor of it, but Netflix does not have a complete catalog, and with the changes to hulu who knows how much content netflix will have from Fox and NBC in the future.
I disagree. It is the perfect companion for people who already have netflix.
It is not for everyone. It is stupid for people to be posting in this thread who say, "I don't watch tv, so no way I am paying for this."
That is nonsensical. This is obviously an option for people who watch a lot of tv and are looking for more content. What we are slowly evolving into is a on-demand pick and choose world, or ala cart. We are just getting there the long way around. With the prices for cable and satellite continuing to get more ridiculous every day, people are looking for ways to save money.
I actually have the 3 at a time Netflix, but if Hulu ends up filling out its library and offers back shows, then I think spending $28 a month for the two of them would be well worth it to me. It also allows me to whittle down my satellite bill.
When I first started on the internet in 1993, I envisioned a day where all tv shows were streamed and on-demand. We are still not there yet, but getting closer.
Well at least Hulu never really ran correctly on a mac anyhow, I kind of forgot the hulu existed.
The little I've used it (a certain anime I watch usually on Funimations webpage I'll watch on Hulu when Funimation is acting up), it works fine on my Macbook.
Amusing: You can watch the second season of Gunslinger Girl in it's entirety in both subtitled or English dub on Hulu for free, but you can only see the first two episodes on Funimation's own site.
Frankly this subscription idea sounds backwards. Shouldn't it be you have to pay to watch the hot, new shows and the older stuff is free? It's the new shows people are wanting to see as they air because all their friends are and that people are subscribing to cable right now to see. The older stuff can be rented on DVD or if it's old enough seen in syndication on various channels, os it hold less value for them.
Netflix gives you movies AND TV shows AND DVDs AND ability to watch on your tv, pc, iPad, and soon iPhone. There IS is a difference in the service.
But you'd better hope you got into the hot new show before 5 episodes have aired or you're missing out - and buzz doesn't always start right away. Not having to worry about that is the "premium". There's also shows like Dollhouse where you can watch season one on Netflix but not the next as it hasn't gone to DVD yet. To fill the first 8 season 2 episodes on iTunes even in SD is already over $10. Same for season 6 of Lost.
I'd gladly pay the monthly fee but hope there's a no ad option and that the archive truly is comprehensive.
I hope that you don't have a TV, pay for cable, goto the movies, buy movies, nor pay for internet.