Hulu May Start Charging in 2010
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, October 26, 2009 · 
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News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey spoke at an industry event last week on the future of the business, where he maintained that consumers need to pay for online broadcast content.
“I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value,” Carey said. “Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.” (Hulu is jointly owned by NBC Universal, News Corp., The Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners.)
When the press inquired about when he would begin charging, Carey acknowledged there is still no timeline, but suggested it’s at least in 2010. Carey said that while throwing up a pay-wall around all content is not the answer, it doesn’t mean there won’t be fees for some specially-created content and TV previews.
Of note, it has been rumored that Comcast is in negotiations to purchase NBC Universal. If this occurs Comcast will take a seat at the Hulu table, and influence any future pay-for-content offering.
Broadband Reports had a lot to say about this issue, and I tend to agree with their analysis. Hulu is directly competing with pirated content, and in order to maintain eye balls it needs to be more appealing than other avenues. It will be difficult for Hulu to remain competitive with an expensive – and limited – offering, filled with increasing advertisements.
Read more at Broadcasting & Cable.
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