Well the torrent sites will be hopping again. These big companies will never learn that if ain't broke don't fix it.
Hulu has ad based revenue and it has been a savior for some struggling shows. Too bad they are going to kill, gut and cook the goose that lays the golden eggs. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Adrianne Brennan <adrianne.bren...@...> wrote: > > Nooooooo D: > If it weren't for Hulu, I wouldn't be able to watch good shows at crappy > timeslots. Like Dollhouse. > > DVR's great and I have it, but I always forget to use it, lol. > > ~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ > http://www.adriannebrennan.com > Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: > http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon > Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: > http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath > The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): > http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html > > > On Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 12:54 PM, Martin Baxter > <truthseeker...@...>wrote: > > > > > > > Oh, yeah. > > > > The day this deal is finalized is the day that Hulu vanishes from the > > Internet -- no, I take that back. It stays, but as a PPV forum. And with > > Comcrap's supreme management skills, it becomes slower that Snail Love. > > > > "If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in > > bloody hell hired the director?" -- Charles L Grant > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com > > From: ravena...@... > > Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 14:44:28 +0000 > > Subject: [scifinoir2] Comcast deal for NBC could throw Hulu for a loop > > > > > > http://ohthuco.notlong.com > > > > A Comcast deal for NBC could throw Hulu for a loop > > > > By Dawn C. Chmielewski and Meg James > > > > Tribune Newspapers > > > > 1:59 PM CDT, October 5, 2009 > > > > hulu HOLLYWOOD -- Since Hulu launched early in 2008, its popularity has > > quadrupled as millions of people turn to the free online video site to watch > > episodes of such television shows as "Family Guy," "The Office" and "Modern > > Family." > > > > Some wonder how long the free flow of online video would last if Comcast > > Corp. ends up a part owner of Hulu. > > > > The nation's leading cable company has made no secret of its disdain for > > Hulu's approach of giving away the shows that Comcast and other pay-TV > > distributors spend billions for -- and rely on to retain subscribers. > > Comcast is in talks with NBC Universal about pooling their entertainment > > assets into a new company that would own 30 percent of Hulu in addition to > > such networks as NBC, Bravo, E! and Syfy. Comcast would control the new > > entity and possibly have the clout to push Hulu to begin charging for access > > to some of its most popular shows, including "It's Always Sunny in > > Philadelphia," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "Psych." > > > > "Would Comcast put an end to the Hulu model of using the Web to distribute > > free TV content?" said Michael Nathanson, senior media analyst at Sanford C. > > Bernstein & Co. "Will Comcast continue to support Hulu?" > > > > Hulu, a partnership among NBC, Fox and Walt Disney Co., has been a nagging > > concern among Wall Street investors, who see the site not as a hedge against > > Internet piracy or viral video phenomenon YouTube but as a threat to the > > economic underpinnings of the television business. The $22 billion a year in > > cable and satellite TV subscriptions paid to programmers underwrites the > > cost of producing all forms of television programming. > > > > Hulu already has limited users' access to certain cable programs, including > > FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," in response to an outcry from the > > television producers and cable companies that object to paying TV > > programmers hundreds of millions of dollars each year for shows that are > > offered free online. > > > > Comcast Chief Executive Brian L. Roberts is among the cable executives who > > have made their concerns known to TV programmers, both privately and > > publicly. He and other cable executives fear that Hulu could become the free > > alternative to cable TV subscriptions. > > > > "If I am any one of these programmers, not just ESPN but the Food Network > > ... and I have a business in that 50 percent, 60 percent, 70 percent of my > > business comes from subscriptions, I want to think long and hard before I > > just put that content out there for free and not think through what it is > > going to mean to my business," Roberts said at an investor conference in > > May. > > > > Owning content would give Comcast some control over the matter. > > > > "Arguably, their ability to shape online content distribution, and to > > recast windows for video on demand, would be an important attribute of any > > deal," wrote Craig Moffett, a cable industry analyst at Sanford C. > > Bernstein. > > > > Comcast's interest in NBC Universal would dramatically expand its > > entertainment portfolio with such attractive cable channels as USA Network, > > MSNBC and CNBC as well as the Universal Pictures movie studio. The proposed > > Comcast-NBC Universal venture also would give the cable operator a greater > > role in deciding how and when TV shows and movies are distributed online and > > at what price to consumers. > > > > The deal hinges on whether a French company, Vivendi, decides to unload its > > 20 percent stake in NBC Universal. Vivendi must decide in the next two > > months, and then federal regulators -- already concerned about media > > consolidation -- would have to sign off on the union of Comcast and NBC > > Universal. > > > > Should the deal be completed, Comcast would be the majority owner with 51 > > percent and GE would have 49 percent. This would give the Philadelphia-based > > cable operator a stake in Hulu, whose online audience swelled to 38.5 > > million viewers in August, up from 10.2 million a year earlier, according to > > comScore Video Metrix, which tracks online audiences. > > > > Wall Street isn't alone in questioning whether Hulu is a help or a > > hindrance to the TV industry. Entertainment executives have been agonizing > > over how to respond to viewers' desire to watch video on their computers and > > portable devices without encouraging them to abandon their pay TV > > subscriptions. > > > > Last month, Soleil Securities estimated that Disney, Fox and NBC subsidize > > $33 million of losses at Hulu, which is only partially offset by $123 > > million this year in incremental advertising. That doesn't take into account > > the TV advertising revenue media companies are losing as viewers > > increasingly watch shows on their computers. . > > > > Soleil media analyst Laura Martin calculated that for every viewer who > > migrates to the Internet, the companies forfeit $920 a year in ad revenue. > > Comcast, Martin and other analysts hope, would champion a move away from > > offering so many shows online for free. > > > > "It would accelerate the inevitable path of Hulu to charge for its premium > > content," Martin said. > > > > The departure in June of one of Hulu's architects, Peter Chernin, the > > longtime chief operating officer of Fox parent News Corp., meant the site > > lost a powerful advocate. Hulu Chief Executive Jason Kilar lauded Chernin as > > an executive who "learned long ago that it was never his or his team's job > > to protect existing businesses" but to maximize those businesses "while at > > the same time ensuring that the seeds were planted and nourished for new > > businesses." > > > > Absent Chernin, there is growing support among the site's owners to embrace > > a pay model, according to people familiar with the situation. Hulu declined > > to comment. > > > > Already, several media companies, including Comcast and Time Warner Inc., > > have been experimenting with their own video Web sites and with technology > > that would ensure that only paying subscribers are able to watch premium > > cable shows on their computers at no additional charge. > > > > Called "On Demand Online," Comcast has been testing the service with 5,000 > > subscribers who type in their ID and password to gain access to video. The > > cable operator has a dual interest: to retain cable TV subscribers as well > > as to offer a reason for people to sign up for Comcast's high-speed Internet > > service or upgrade to speedier access. > > > > Analysts have cheered the nascent efforts to extend the cable subscription > > model online through the use of "authentication," the term for verifying a > > subscriber's identity. > > > > "Authentication is becoming a top priority for content providers as well as > > the cable operators," said Charles D. Segars, a movie producer and chief > > executive of the Ovation TV cable channel. "Do they make Hulu a paid site? > > It's going to be a very interesting debate." > > > > Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. Get it > > now.<http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222986/direct/01/> > > > > > > >
