What's the hoopla over Hulu?

By Jessie Atkin

Print Story | Email Story
Add to My Digital Landing

Related Articles

• Four ways to keep your kids learning this summer
• Examining the Apple iPad
• TV enhanced: Get more out of your favorite TV shows
• Building a Website: Adding a Shopping Cart
• Social Media Safety: Ten Best Practices

If you hadn't heard of hulu.com before, odds are you've heard of it now thanks to the rather hysterical 2009 Super Bowl commercial staring Alec Baldwin.  It's a good thing too, because hulu is playing, and will continue to play, a huge role in the future of television.

Hulu is simple, convenient, and completely functional for anyone with an internet connection.  For those unfamiliar with the specifics of hulu here is a quick overview: 

• Hulu.com is a legal video streaming site. 
• It provides both a selection of TV and Movies, and all are free. 
• Television episodes (for the most part) are posted the day after they air, most of the movies however are older. 
• Their quality is superior to youtube and the site is completely legal.

This works in part because of hulu's unique advertising deal.  Both television episodes and movies play with a few interruptions (or commercial breaks).  This advertising is still superior to your basic cable commercial break because only one commercial plays each break (averaging 30 seconds).  Hulu even offers special options on occasion, if you watch a longer commercial or movie trailer before your desired program you can then watch the rest of your show commercial free.  Even with commercials the time difference is a cut above live showings. 

Not everyone has a DVR and thus hulu and like-minded sites are a godsend.  With evening meetings, late night rehearsals, homework, or a million other inconveniences, hulu offers TV on your time, without an additional cost.  Watching live when you can is always great for adrenaline, but not always a possibility.  The truth is more people than ever are turning to the web rather than cable for their TV fix, especially in the current economic climate.

Hulu is no longer alone in its quest for consumer production unity on the Internet.  Fancast is another site, in part partnered with hulu, to provide free legal viewing of both television and movies.  Fancast's unique qualities include the access it provides to television listings, blogs, and advanced search options.  Though fancast links back to hulu for many of its videos it is no less helpful and useful as its own site.

Youtube is free but, despite upgrades in viewing and widescreen options, usually lacks official quality.  It's fantastic for watching puppies, or short cartoons, or babies laughing, but for full-length videos it is not superb. Copyright infringement also continues to plague the site.  It's a site for fun and home made creations, not theater quality officially licensed programming.  Hulu and fancast seek to bridge that gap between live shows, official sites, and consumers.

But hulu and Fancast are both legal and that's really the amazing part.  The movie industry and the television industry have reached a crossroads just as music did so many years ago.  The Internet could be a barrier to profits or it could be an opportunity to widen audiences.  Hulu is the beginning of a union between the visual entertainment industry and the wired consumer.  All anyone wants on the Internet is access, and when broadcasting as well as production companies are willing to compromise everyone is more likely to come out as a winner in the end.