# Hulu to Start Charging - Sound the Death Bells? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896 "2009-10-23T20:00:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![2ply](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/b2d939/32.png) [@2ply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ply)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/41 "2009-10-24T07:56:53Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Problem with the “make money from ads” model is that there is little money to be made from internet ads other than keyword advertising. Also, the same 71% who won’t watch Hulu if they had to pay for it will be the same 71% who wouldn’t watch Hulu if every 22 minutes of shows had 8 minutes of advertising. 😉 The thing is, there is already places to pay to watch TV on a computer. Hulu as it is now fills a niche in the web by offering people free programming legally. Hulu based on paid subscription will be doing something Itunes and Amazon and Netflix already do. I don’t think fragmenting the market for online programming this early in the game is going to be profitable for Hulu either. It also means that the TV industry is giving up on trying to offer an easy alternative to piracy. It also seems like giving up on the free content model after just being around for less than 3 years suggest they aren’t even trying to make a go at it. > [@chique](#): > > And, by the way, it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest if Hulu’s programming ran as many ads as the networks do. Me neither. I was at first surprised when I started using Hulu because they didn’t have many ads, just three 30 second commercials. I thought that couldn’t be enough ad time to be profitable. 8 minutes of ads would be fine with me too. I’d use the time to check email like I do during commercial breaks on TV. Maybe the networks can bundle their TV and web ads into one package for advertisers. It’d give them a little more money from commercials and help Hulu stay afloat while it still needs to grow. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/42 "2009-10-24T13:34:08Z")
When Hulu starts charging, they’ll drop off the face of the earth just like Napster and every other media service that began to charge for what was previously a free service. There’s just too many places online to get free content… Besides, why the hell have I been sitting through ads after ads on Hulu if they weren’t making revenue?! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/43 "2009-10-24T14:01:10Z")
> [@Surbey](#): > > I’d be willing to pay, say 5 bucks a month, for the service IF and only IF they got better content on there. Only the latest 5 episodes of a TV show? No way. I want the whole damn series. **Only 5 movies on Hulu worth watching? They better throw in a whole hell of a lot more.** > I don’t mind paying for service like this but they’d sure as hell better up the content for it. I won’t buy immediately, I’ll see what they have. Hell, I’d pay 1 dollar a month never to see ads. wonder if that would make em some money. prolly not though… I just started using Hulu and I was kind of appalled by how few movies that I could think of were even on there. Is it more of a TV rebroadcast service? Is there some better way to search their database for more movies? All I ever seem to get is links to trailers, _Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas_ being the only notable exception. Or better yet, is there another good quality, free website that actually HAS a bunch of movies on it? ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/44 "2009-10-24T14:21:03Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > I’d be willing to pay for Hulu only if all of the following conditions are met: > > a) It uses a subscription model > b) It’s reasonably priced (i.e. less than $50/year for unrestricted access) > c) Paid users do not have to watch any commercials > d) New episodes of TV shows are posted by the morning after their initial airing > e) Episodes that are posted are left up for eternity (i.e. none of this “episode available for only 2 weeks” bullshit) > f) They post entire full-run, whole-episode archives of shows Pretty much this. Especially the subscription model. I’m willing to pay for something like Hulu if it replaces cable, because cable has the problem of scheduling–I have to be sitting in front of my TV for x-amount of time at x-hour, or I don’t get to see what I wanna see. If I can pay all at once for a year’s worth of access, then that’s worth it; it means I don’t miss shows. However, if it becomes more expensive than a DVR–or if it becomes more of a pain in the ass, by, say, requiring that I pay per episode (thus requiring me to make a cost/benefit analysis any time I want to watch an episode of _Dollhouse_–then. . .well, I’ll buy the DVR. I’m an untapped market for this stuff. Make it worth my while, and I’ll pony up the dough. Make it a pain in the ass, and I’ll find other (legal) means, or I’ll go without. Because, frankly, torrents are more of a pain in the ass than actually paying. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/45 "2009-10-24T15:05:18Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > It sounds like she’s a continuing source of income. I bet it’s a lease. No, \*\*Really Not All That Bright \*\* is right. I sold her into the Mauritanian slave trade. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/46 "2009-10-24T15:10:09Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Like what? Hulu offers copyrighted shows. I agree that there is a lot of “It depends…” in the equation, but I don’t think a blanket “I won’t pay for it” makes sense. I don’t know what content on Hulu other people watch but everything I watch is 1) available for free on the major networks’ Web sites and 2) available on broadcast or cable television. I’m just totally unwilling to pay for it. And it makes complete sense. I canceled my cable television a year or two ago because I always missed the couple shows I actually liked. I weighed spending even more for DVR against spending nothing and watching a few shows online for free. If I have to pay for the inconvenience of watching TV on a little computer screen I’ll just buy cable again. And most people never canceled their cable in the first place, or have an antenna for broadcast tv. Not paying makes even more sense to them. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/47 "2009-10-25T05:11:54Z")
I already barely use hulu because watching streaming TV shows on my PC is far more annoying than watching the same shows as downloads from less legit sites on my TV via my X-box. No matter how much buffering Hulu’s player does, everything I watch on there winds up stuttering at least once in a while. And now they think I’m gonna pay for that? No way, jose. Of course, I wouldn’t have get shows off the net at all if they didn’t always schedule too many shows I want to watch in the same timeslots… You’d think with a dual tuner DVR and three VCR’s I’d be set, but nope. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/48 "2009-10-25T07:30:37Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > The resolution is higher than most people have going into homes, and I almost never suffer from buffer delays. the best resolution Hulu offers is the worst one offered for broadcast. I and the people I’ve talked to have been subject to the buffer delays and find them annoying. For me, I’m willing to put up with it if it’s paid for with ads. If Hulu cannot draw enough people to generate ad revenue I don’t see how it will survive subcriptions. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/49 "2009-10-25T07:46:00Z")
I didn’t read all the posts in this thread but, if you’re already paying for TV through your cable subscrption, why would you pay for Hulu to get the same thing? I watch TV programs on Hulu more frequently than I do regular broadcast TV. However, I do so because it’s free and covenient. If (when?) Hulu goes becomes a pay service, I’ll go back to Tivoing the programs I want to watch like anyone with any sense would. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/50 "2009-10-25T07:57:00Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I don’t know what content on Hulu other people watch but everything I watch is 1) available for free on the major networks’ Web sites and 2) available on broadcast or cable television. I’m just totally unwilling to pay for it. And it makes complete sense. I just finished reading the rest of the thread, and what **Fuzzy Dunlop** says here is correct. In fact, at times I’ve had to go to the network’s website to watch a show I’ve wanted because the Hulu feed was on the fritz for that particular episode. The quality is the same to boot. Another reason not to get sucked into paying Hulu. > [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I canceled my cable television a year or two ago because I always missed the couple shows I actually liked. I weighed spending even more for DVR against spending nothing and watching a few shows online for free. If I have to pay for the inconvenience of watching TV on a little computer screen I’ll just buy cable again. And most people never canceled their cable in the first place, or have an antenna for broadcast tv. Not paying makes even more sense to them. What I did was connect my old PowerMac G4 to my 42 inch LCD TV in my bedroom with an HDMI cable. It works great. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/51 "2009-10-25T08:03:59Z")
I won’t pay for it but I expect it will survive as a niche service for those who have money to burn, who have no qualms about online purchasing, and who are too ethical, lazy, and or ignorant to find alternate sources. > [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Is say a charge of 0.01 a show going to dissuade you from using Hulu? What about a price of $5 a year? I just cannot flat out say I wouldn’t pay for Hulu, I wouldn’t pay any price, but I can see myself paying some price for it, because it has value. > > or do folks have some sort of weird issue with them charging on somje sort of ethical fornt? It has some value, but very little. I could not currently justify paying a cent for it. I do without a lot of things that have value. > [@](#): > > Hulu offers copyrighted shows. I agree that there is a lot of “It depends…” in the equation, but I don’t think a blanket “I won’t pay for it” makes sense. Other posters have mentioned that there are other sources for the same shows, but equally important to me there are other forms of entertainment. ETA: I have no problem with advertising before, after, or during the program. I’ll even tolerate crawls and bugs. I _want_ content providers to make a profit – I just can’t give it to them directly. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/52 "2009-10-25T08:12:04Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I didn’t read all the posts in this thread but, if you’re already paying for TV through your cable subscrption, why would you pay for Hulu to get the same thing? I watch TV programs on Hulu more frequently than I do regular broadcast TV. However, I do so because it’s free and covenient. If (when?) Hulu goes becomes a pay service, I’ll go back to Tivoing the programs I want to watch like anyone with any sense would. If you can stream hi-def video from specific providers that give you the content you want, then why would you pay for cable TV? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/53 "2009-10-25T08:18:08Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > the best resolution Hulu offers is the worst one offered for broadcast. I’m pretty sure this is incorrect. Analog TV signals (which the majority of americans still use–or view on a non-HD TV), AFAIK, are 480i. That, combined with general signal degradation, results in picture quality inferior to Hulu’s “HD” mode, which I believe is 480p. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/54 "2009-10-25T09:46:57Z")
Well, considering I can get House (for example) OTA in 720p, then the 480p is still lower than what is available by broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/55 "2009-10-25T10:24:43Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > If they start charging for it, will they also let people outside the US watch it? :dubious: That’s an excellent question. Whilst most of you in the US might (understandably) not want to pay for it (I wouldn’t either if I was there), there are people outside the US who might be prepared to pay so they can see shows that either A) Never air on their own channels or B) Are months or years behinds what’s airing in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/56 "2009-10-25T14:17:07Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > If you can stream hi-def video from specific providers that give you the content you want, then why would you pay for cable TV? Assuming that you would only watch streaming video that is not violating someone’s copyright, right now there is content that is not available by online streaming (to my knowledge). Some examples that come to mind are children’s programs and HBO series. Premium cable packages for live sporting events allow you to watch your local games plus any games outside of your local market. For NHL games, there is a pay streaming service at [nhl.com](http://nhl.com), but your local game is blacked out, and at least for now, the streaming video apparently still has problems with lags and interruptions of the game. I have heard that local games are also blacked out for the MLB streaming package. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/57 "2009-10-25T14:30:02Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I don’t know what content on Hulu other people watch but everything I watch is 1) available for free on the major networks’ Web sites and 2) available on broadcast or cable television. I’m just totally unwilling to pay for it. And it makes complete sense. > > I canceled my cable television a year or two ago because I always missed the couple shows I actually liked. I weighed spending even more for DVR against spending nothing and watching a few shows online for free. If I have to pay for the inconvenience of watching TV on a little computer screen I’ll just buy cable again. And most people never canceled their cable in the first place, or have an antenna for broadcast tv. Not paying makes even more sense to them. I’m with you. I’ve been watching Hulu a lot lately, mostly because I am either working or out with friends during prime TV-watching times. The other night I watched Flash Forward, 30 Rock, and two episodes of Glee (which I’d never seen but figured I’d check out) on Hulu. But the thing is, if I have to start paying for that, along with what I pay for Netflix and cable . . . well, that’s too much. I don’t have a DVR right now, so maybe I should get one of those instead. Or maybe I should cancel cable, since I rarely watch it anyway, and just use Hulu. Except that I love old black-and-white movies and would miss TCM. What would work best for me is some sort of pay-per-channel deal, where you get to pick the channels you want and pay a fee for those each month, combined with a DVR. Unfortunately, that doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/58 "2009-10-25T17:05:39Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Well, considering I can get House (for example) OTA in 720p, then the 480p is still lower than what is available by broadcast. Indeed, which wasn’t at all my point. Of course people who have HDTVs are able to take advantage of hi-def signals. My point is that the majority of Americans still don’t, and are thus stuck with the old, analog signal which appears to be inferior to Hulu’s HD mode. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/59 "2009-10-25T18:04:23Z")
As an _alternative_ to cable, I can see it working, but it would need to offer superior service for a cheaper pricetag. With cable, I might be spending $100 a month for a package, 90% of the channels of which I’m not even interested in and don’t have the option of going a la carte for a more reasonable price; and for which I either have to work my schedule around the TV, or buy and mess with extra equipment. Or I could go to Hulu, watch only what I’m interested in, watch it on my schedule, not have to bother with a pre-fab “package” that primarily consists of a bunch of crap I don’t want, and not have to go out and buy a DVR (and let’s face it, these days people have computers at home, whether they end up using them for streaming TV or not… so it wouldn’t be an “extra” piece of equipment to buy). For that, I’d either pay a low subscription fee, or watch ads, but not both. Again, I’ll pay for something if I think it’s worth it, but don’t try to make me pay twice – this double-dipping is one of the main reasons I’m not particularly motivated to even investigate cable TV. However, I would also expect an improvement in service. Which might entail some negotiations with the copyright owners (the “last five episodes” thing, I assume, it because that’s what they’ve bought the rights for). I’d also like to see shows from other channels not currently available. I’m not going to spend a bunch of extra money on a bundle of “premium” cable channels because there’s ONE show that I’d like to watch (e.g. Dexter on Showtime). However, this is something they’d need to work out with Showtime, and who knows if Showtime would be willing. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/60 "2009-10-25T18:25:08Z")
(didn’t read entire thread) I refuse to pay for it, because I’m convinced they’ll STILL have ads, probably more ads to make up for the revenue shortfall. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896.md?page=4)