Posts Tagged On demand

Bad Ideas: Hulu Intends to Charge in 2010

Posted by admin in streaming video on October 26, 2009

As noted by EW.com (citing Broadcasting & Cable), Hulu management has decided that as of 2010 it’s “time to start getting paid for broadcast content online”. Really? You think folks are going to go for that?

I’m a longtime fan of Hulu, as documented in this May 2008 post, but I sincerely doubt I will pay to see its content. Ask my cable provider, Comcast, about my spending patterns. I will watch all the free ON DEMAND shows they offer, but the minute I encounter any pay-per-view ON DEMAND, I keep looking until I find free content. I expect Hulu to be treated the same way by me.

I never understand Internet ventures that give the goods away for free, but then decide “hey, would you like to pay for the stuff that used to be free?” I’ll be curious to see how well Hulu does in terms of charging for content. Maybe they can make it work, but not with me.

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Fancast: How’d I Miss That?

Posted by admin in Uncategorized on February 17, 2008

I am a long-time subscriber to Comcast as my cable provider and a fairly heavy user of its on-demand system. I also pride myself in being one of the myriad beta users of hulu and generally being aware of online media entertainment options.

So I was really surprised when I found out about the new Fancast online entertainment venture by Comcast–not from my cable provider–but rather from Whitney Matheson at Pop Candy. As Whitney notes in her write-up of the site: “Here, you can search TV listings; watch films and TV shows; connect with programs on iTunes, Netflix, Fandango and other sites; get recommendations; and more. … also [the site] plays video from CBS.com, Hulu, Viacom networks”.

I have to totally concur with Matheson’s response of in essence: “What took someone so long to come up with a venture like this?”

Honestly I am already spoiled by online video demand options, given that I get disappointed when the online options don’t carry a show I want to see. Am I the only person mystified as to why that great 2000-2004 NBC series, Ed, is not on demand already?

If you happen to come by on Saturday for a post only to find nothing, I apologize for the delay.

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