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Hulu To Earn Up to $90M In First Year

readwriteweb.com — To the average user, Hulu.com, the free web site that offers high-quality streams of TV shows and movies in the U.S., looks like a runaway success: the selection of available content is more than decent, Hulu's Collections make browsing related videos easy, HD videos have been made available, embed codes are provided for re-posting...

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  • gn0stik, on 07/02/2008, -18/+1***** Joint Ventures.
    Too bad there won't be an IPO for it. Unless they spin off.
    I guess I'll go invest in NewsCorp, and GE's NBC Universal.

    Problem is, it's already pretty much too late.
  • dha07030, on 07/02/2008, -3/+45I love Hulu it made my last job bearable, thanks.
    • fuzzlog, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2hmmm...ok, what do you mean last job? got caught watching tv on the job?
  • beelz, on 07/02/2008, -15/+6The real question is there any way of getting by their 30 second ads. Or in my case blank screens. AdBlock Plus.
    • SAOSiN, on 07/03/2008, -1/+18Well if everyone starts blocking their ads, then they wont make money and in tern, probably have a worse selection of tv shows or maybe even shut down. Just because you couldn't spare 30 seconds.
      • funk13, on 07/03/2008, -5/+2the thing is he did spare thirty seconds, he just decided that he did not want to view ads that he may have no use for. and, seriously, how do they know if you are watching the ad or not?
      • buddyfarr, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4uh, because if you are blocking it then it shows their default black page stating that it might be blocked by an adblocker. it has to get that ad from somewhere which in turn would be counted on their site as no ads being served and thus the advertisers would know.
        Plus 3 to 5 30 second ads is better than 3 to 5 2 1/2 minutes full of ads like regular tv and it is on demand so you don't have to wait for the time slot that it was posted for.
      • Thater, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1This is funny, because a lot of the ads on hulu are less than 30 seconds... they have loads of 15 second spots. so you're actually wasting time watching that black HULU screen when you could be zipping through a brief Chili's commercial.
    • pdarg, on 07/03/2008, -9/+1bittorrent, usenet or buy the dvd
    • lordtyros, on 07/03/2008, -2/+11You cheap *****.
    • TotalHalibut, on 07/03/2008, -1/+17People like you are the reason this thing has only just started happening now. Corporations see this kind of thing, think 'oh, internet users are just a bunch of content-thieves', and don't risk internet-based ventures.

      Screw you.
    • funk13, on 07/03/2008, -2/+3i love the little message on the bottom of the screen: "if you repeatedly see this message, you may need to disable your ad blocking software"

      ...they almost fooled me.
    • genome895, on 07/03/2008, -0/+30Have you seen television? There are way more than 30 seconds of commercials to complain about making hulu a convenient alternative. They have to make money somehow and 30 second ads are better than it being a subscription or pay per view model. I think where it gets annoying is when it is the SAME commercial over and over and over and over.
      • buddyfarr, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4yes, same ad over and over does get boring, but I still watch. great service!
    • nthitz, on 07/03/2008, -2/+19You do realize that many ads on their site only take 15 seconds. By using ad block plus you guarantee that each "ad" you see is 30 seconds. Fool.
      • buddyfarr, on 07/03/2008, -0/+7exactly! now that you block it you get 30 seconds of black instead of 15 seconds of a short commercial and guaranteeing the service to continue. nice.
    • Havs, on 07/03/2008, -0/+14This is one of the few sites on which I've disabled ABP. I think hulu has a wonderful business model, and hope they stick around. I actually started looking at hulu before I resort to piracy. Only if hulu doesn't have the video will I turn to other tried and true methods. IMHO this is a perfectly reasonable compromise between seeing 10 minutes of ads per 20 minute episode and seeing none through piracy. 15 second ads 3 or 4 times an episode are perfectly tolerable in my book. The companies do have to make money somehow, and they've struck a happy medium in my book.
      • Paulish, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1Where can I buy your book? It sounds interesting.
  • coolwebmom, on 07/02/2008, -3/+15Wow. Hulu definitely paving the way - in a fast growing field!
  • koonchu, on 07/03/2008, -8/+2I wish it luck, but I'm a Joost-bitch myself.
    • jotate, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8I tried Joost. Everything that sucked about it is everything that Hulu does well. Don't be a fan boy, especially for something that is far inferior. Especially when they offer you two entirely separate subsets of entertainment, so you could use both of them depending on what you want to watch.
  • MasterPlayer, on 07/03/2008, -4/+11And it's still not available in Canada...
    • jonwise80, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3ya, hurry up guys... i want tv on my pc... legally!
    • sebrOck, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1..and not available in Germany either.
    • fuzzlog, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3don't know if it will ever be available out of the us
    • Andrewe1, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1download the hotspot shield....free and works wonders...
  • RonAcierno, on 07/03/2008, -1/+22Hopefully they continue to make money so more shows get put on it. I would like to see streaming of shows on Hulu as they are aired on TV.
    • buddyfarr, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0that would be awesome! that is the one bad thing I see is that there aren't enough shows!
  • EarlOfLade, on 07/03/2008, -7/+6I would much rather use Hulu than bittorrent. Why? Because of speed. Torrents are inherently slow and it can take days to get a show downloaded and the quality can be so and so. I have no problems with the short commercials even though watching the same commercial over and over again for a product I have no intention of ever buying can be challenging.

    If their selection were a bit better and with a better archive available, it would really have a potential.
    • keithnoir, on 07/03/2008, -5/+3Torrent are slow? maybe for you, but it takes me about 6-10 min. to download a 30 min show... set up an auto download of your favorite shows and have them ready to watch.
      • EarlOfLade, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1Really? Why don't you post a torrent that you downloaded in 6-10 minutes? For some obvious reasons I don't believe a word of what you are saying.
      • tito13kfm, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4Family.Guy.S06E12.PDTV.XviD-2HD was the last TV show I downloaded via torrent.

        It was 175.1 MB... total time to download 3min 42 seconds. Average speed, somewhere around 800KB/sec.
    • Bootes, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2Torrents aren't inherently slow. I can max out my 30mbps Fios connection with a torrent. Your torrent, internet connection, or something else sucks.

      Hulu would still be faster though, because it's streaming and doesn't have to download first.
  • junkmailme666, on 07/03/2008, -0/+21I love Hulu, but I still don't understand their model for removing previous episodes on long-tail story lines like Battlestar Galactica. Why wouldn't you want to get people hooked on your story line with future episodes to come?
    • KMye, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8It has to be an agreement with the content providers; they still want to sell their DVDs...
      • chroko, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5You're probably right about it being a content license issue - but that doesn't prevent it from being an incredibly dumb decision.

        The problem is that they've been removing episodes from shows that won't be on DVD for over a year. There is currently no legal way to watch the start of Battlestar season 4, since it won't be out on DVD until 2009. And if a fan of the show wants to catch up - Hulu is making it an easy decision to use BitTorrent.

        (Amazon Unbox and Xbox Live do not count - both are restrictive, invasive media systems that don't work with a Mac.)
      • digsuxx, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0i posted as a comment the same sentiment on hulu, i also said people will just use bittorrent, they deleted that comment so fast i'm not even sure any soul ever got to see it.
      • Atomic1fire, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1What they should do is remove the episodes as soon as the dvds come out then
        I dont watch the show but It seems to me that if they want to make money they should keep them up as long as possible so they can recieve money for those episodes and then just advertise the dvds
    • Smuikas, on 07/03/2008, -3/+3You didn't read the article, did you? Either of you?

      The content providers tend to remove videos after about five weeks. The Blue Harvest episode of Family Guy, for example, was removed after it came out on DVD.
  • AJKenny84, on 07/03/2008, -3/+36The main reason Hulu kicks ass: http://www.hulu.com/arrested-development
    • KMye, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4Arrested Development is the best of the best, but it's also been nice coming across some shows I never would have otherwise.

      For example, 3 Sheets from MOJO, a network I've never once in my life flipped to on a cable box, is great fun little show to kill 20-40 minutes with an episode or two.
    • shango5, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2I just started to watch the series over again yesterday. I forgot the genius of that show.
  • TotalHalibut, on 07/03/2008, -1/+34Hulu is a good service with a nice selection of content and a good feature set. it will automatically resume whatever you've been watching if you close the window and come back later, it has 480p for almost everything there, closed captioning, and even lets you turn the site black so you can see the video easier, yet it has way less advertising than traditional television. This is something I can get behind, and so should everyone else. You are not going to get TV for free, that's not how it works. Hulu is a reasonable compromise, it should be supported to encourage other companies to follow suit. This is a unique opportunity to show that the internet generation is not simply a bunch of pirates. We don't mind advertising, as long as it's not excessive. We don't mind sponsorship. We just hate *****, simple as that.
    • KingGorilla, on 07/03/2008, -6/+1Did somebody mention free tv?

      http://tvshack.net/
      • TotalHalibut, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3*Wooosh* That's the sound of the entire point going straight over your head.
    • bigdoof, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Legality matters to some people. Unless you somehow believe that TV shows are produced and distributed for free, out of sheer kindness and goodwill.
      • buddyfarr, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1they're not? damn it....

        oh I forgot the /sarcasm for the diggidiots...
  • keithnoir, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5Where is that torrent video streaming thing that was coming out?
  • twodimman, on 07/03/2008, -1/+14"We're sorry, currently our video library can only be streamed within the United States"..meh.. sorry hulu, I don't really want to use a proxy, but you make me do it!
  • TheHayze, on 07/03/2008, -0/+10I love Hulu. I'm usually on there a few times/week to watch something. Much better then trying to find a torrent, that will end up having only a few seeds. Plus, with 16-30s single ads, it's really quite bearable. Unlike normal TV these days, where ad segments are easily 4-5 minutes in length. A 90 minute movie is now close to 120 minutes just because of ads. Plus Hulu doesn't censor, unlike those jerks at the FCC on normal TV.

    My only complaint is that while Hulu has Fox & NBC content, they don't have it all. I would like to see Law & Order seasons on Hulu, and more 24. Full episodes, not clips.
  • themadhatter444, on 07/03/2008, -3/+3Hulu needs to make an API for Apple TV and we can go ahead and write off the typical cable expense.
    • Atomic1fire, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1They should just make an api for all media software and hardware
      make advertising a reqiurement (unless the user pays for some ad free service) and allow them to watch wherever with whatever
  • KnightMareInc, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1hulu is great, if only they would fix the 30 second blank ad problem
    • roflmaololstorm, on 07/03/2008, -0/+14turn of adblock the actual ads are 10-15 seconds long
  • andreascliment, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1Great. Now let us Europeans watch stuff on Hulu too!
  • Lancelot9201, on 07/03/2008, -8/+1If I want to watch commercials I'll turn on my TV - I tried this site once & moved on before the episode was even finished.
    I'll watch something on my PC / Notebook when I'm traveling but that's about it. If I can't watch it without commercials it's of no use to me. Plus, if you'd like to re-view an episode that's over a month old you're out of luck - I can only take so much Movie or Tv viewing on a 15" or 17" screen, especially after you've had an Apple Tv for any length of time..
    • buddyfarr, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0uh, svideo out to your tv like I do...duh.
    • Atomic1fire, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Fullscreen,
      + tvout, or projecter (which can make a full wall something to watch)
  • Ricky81682, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0I would love Hulu to grow mainly to find out about new content. Torrents are ok to get stuff, but we need ways to find out about new content. Also, Hulu is from the big boys so they now know EXACTLY how popular a show like Arrested Development really is. That might be its real impact on the history of television.
  • bpapa, on 07/03/2008, -1/+7I think Hulu is one of the top tech surprises of 2008. A year ago everybody was snickering at the idea of major old media companies getting together to create a piracy killer. But, it in fact turned out to be a pretty awesome service.
  • kada, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0i like hulu i think its a good idea. when im looking to watch somthing i always go there first to see if they have it. problem is if they dont have it i either have to buy it off itunes or amazon or pirate it. so if im always going to hulu first but they dont have what i want no ***** its not gonna be making a ton of money.
  • nirav72, on 07/03/2008, -0/+10Now if only Wii Opera browser would support flash player 9 or someone would find a way in XBMC to stream hulu content, I can drop my cable bill by half.
    • Atomic1fire, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Does xbox mediacenter have a browser...
      Fullscreen mode
      • nirav72, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1No XBMC doesn't have a browser. But it has python scripts that people have written to screen scrap content from various sites, like youtube or apple movie trailers and it uses the internal player to render most type of formats.
  • maxgoedjen, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Hopefully when the major studios realize that they can derive revenue from sites like hulu, they'll jump on board, and we'll get more shows. Also, I think hulu really nails the way the do ads, very non-intrusive, as opposed to ABC's player, where you have to actually click to continue every few minutes.
  • CHAMELEONDH, on 07/03/2008, -3/+5US only. meh
  • widgetmaker, on 07/03/2008, -3/+4Screw you Hulu and your USA only policies,
  • joshmaker, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Interesting article but I think it misses the point a bit -- sure Hulu may not be the heavy weight that iTunes is, but the fact that it is profitable already seems like a big deal to me. How long did it take Facebook to cover its operating costs? And what about YouTube? YouTube is one of the most popular websites on the planet, and Google was willing to shell out $1.65 Billion for it in 2006 -- and by all accounts the site still isn't a profit center for them.

    For all its flaws, it sounds like Hulu is amazing successful so far.
  • analbumcover96, on 07/03/2008, -0/+9HULU media center plugin FTW PLEASE
    • porfitron, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1A Hulu plug-in was demoed on the D-Link DSM-330 this past week at the DivX Connected launch party, at Cinespace in LA this past week... hopefully the bloggers in attendance will post photos or comments about it soon...
  • pinchduck, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1The article is pessimistic, which doesn't make sense to me. They made between 12 and 25 million profit their first year? That is astounding! Amazon took the better part of a decade to break even. I would use it a lot more if the PS3 flash player supported Flash 9.
  • Pzycho, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1That's really cool considering that AMPTP said that there was no money to be made from web based media, thus couldn't give a percentage of that zero to writers. It all makes so much sense now why they were so worried about that percentage of zero...
  • nottidredd, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2when I first saw the title, I read "how to earn up to $90M in first year." Imagine my disappointment.
  • UnknownDevil, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3From TFA: revenues up to 90M but earnings/profit of 12.5M. There is a fundamental difference between revenue and profit.

    But I'm still impressed with hulu's earnings for the first year. Good luck to them. And thanks for introducing me to Arrested Development.
    • bowe, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1SO profit is revenue less expenditure right? Does it really cost 77.5M to run a site like this?

      Maybe if you have to pay for the content, but the thing is that Hulu's owners, are the content owners, so in a way, much of the cost, isn't a cost, but instead just shuffling money from one hand to another. If you look at the venture's profits from Universal or Fox's perspective, it's probably looks like a pretty good deal.
  • kyle415, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4i would pay for a membership if they took away the ads and added more content.
  • speedyparker87, on 07/03/2008, -1/+0I love hulu. The article was way too negative. They're adding more and more content all the time--the hulu days of summer is great! Anyway, they're not going to want to put up the shows that can sell them a bunch of DVDs, at least not a first. Once hulu proves itself as a money making machine, more popular tv shows might get added. Plus, it's not like YouTube brings in a whole lot of revenue.
  • fantasticjon, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Hulu has a nice interface and a reasonably good selection. I use it occasionally, but there are two things that kill hulu for me.
    1. There is no way to take your shows with you.
    2. Sure 1 commercial long commercial breaks are great. If Hulu catches on, how long do you think that will last. I can hardly watch regular TV anymore due to the length of the commercial breaks. Mark my words, within 5 years Hulu will have just as many commercials as regular TV.
  • Supergenie, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Damn it! I thought the title was "HOW To Earn Up To $90M In First Year."
  • Notyavgkat, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1Hulu Rocks
  • elithebest, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4Apparently everyone lives in America.
  • roho76, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1High quality? Maybe it's just me but my streams are jittery and stutter. I hope they fix this cuz I like this site and I wish it was better.
  • prh99, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1I guess I am out of the loop, I don't watch much TV anymore cause I don't find the content compelling or interesting . So Hulu..meh.
  • jellygraph, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2I haven't visited Hulu nor do I intend to, because of its FOX connections. Good luck with their "success"... har har
  • Phoros, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Wow could youi believe that the amazing panda race/ epic fan flick made it all the way to the enormous gigantic polar bear expressway suffering from a mild case on the moon
    ?
  • NecroSexy, on 07/04/2008, -1/+1Huluv u long time.
  • BenjaminsDiggs, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0If Hulu can do it, why can't you(tube)?
  • kokoshka, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1http://www.hulu.com/son-of-the-beach
  • interguide, on 07/08/2008, -0/+0As an alternative you can use http://www.mylivetime.com - An online video guide where you can find over 1700 video channels on the internet including free gaming sites, free movies and TV shows (updates all the time). Use the custom search box to search for "free movies" or the name of the movie you are interested in - this will give you options to watch from Hulu as well as many other locations on the web
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