At an Internet Week event Tuesday night, Chief Digital Officer Jonathan Miller of News Corp. expressed the likelihood that some TV shows and movies on Hulu will be restricted to paying subscribers.
Hulu is a premium content syndicator owned by News Corp., NBC Universal and Disney. The ad-supported site went live in 2007 and has since enjoyed significant popularity, ranking No. 2 behind YouTube amongst top video web brands this year. In part to address the threat posed by Hulu, YouTube recently launched separate hubs dedicated to both films and TV shows.
Miller remained diplomatically vague about whether Hulu would ultimately turn to a paid subs model for newer or more desirable content. But he candidly admitted, "I don't see why over time that shouldn't happen. I don't think it's on the agenda for Monday [but] it seems to me that over time that could be a logical thing."
Such commentary invites speculation that high traffic, an adventurous attitude toward ad models and even spend-happy advertisers are insufficient to support content services for long. Demonstrating this isn't just a problem with Hulu, Miller suggested a similar hypothetical subscription model for the ailing newspaper industry:
I think what works for consumers most likely — and this has to be tested, frankly — is bundles. I think you have to figure out what are the right bundles that people buy and what's contained in that bundle. For example, you could have — and I'm making this up entirely — you could have a New York bundle, and that could consist of various papers or publications that are relevant to the audience in New York, and you could make that all, potentially, a bundle to a consumer at one price.
April 2009 marked the first time Hulu cracked the top three video sites in the US, reports comScore. The site drew nearer to Google Sites (parent company of YouTube), No. 1 with 5.9 billion videos viewed (40.9% online video market share), and Fox Interactive Media, No. 2 with 437 million videos (3.0%). Hulu hosted 380 million, 2.6% of the market.
Last month, Hulu announced a liaison with the Dave Matthews Band whereby the site streamed one of the band's concerts live. It also debuted a desktop component, so users can browse the site's offerings with their remote controls.
Middle-aged audiences contributed to Hulu's 490% growth this year.
