# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/101 "2009-11-01T17:50:48Z")
I’d be willing to pay a small subscription fee, and the drop my cable. That’s a big savings for me. It depends on the price, of course, but how many people here are paying $8.59 or more a month (not to mention $300 for the setup) for TiVo and saying they won’t pay for Hulu? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/102 "2009-11-01T18:55:51Z")
I might pay _if_ the cost was reasonable. I dumped my cable TV a couple years ago largely in part because I could access most of the shows I wanted to watch on Hulu. Right now I’m following five active shows and can access the archives for much more (although removing most of the Firefly episodes was a blow). It depends on what the pricing model is, though. If it’s a cost per episode per viewing, I’m not paying. I like to watch certain episodes of some shows over and over, and having to pay each time doesn’t sit well with me. A monthly cost of $10 or 15 might not be so bad, although $5 would be better. I think, personally, I would much rather have something akin to iTunes. Each episode/season/series/movie costs a small amount, and once you pay you have unlimited access to that video. They just better keep the movie trailers section free. Making people pay to see advertising is just idiotic, and it’s one of my favorite places to go to see new trailers. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/103 "2009-11-01T19:38:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Attention, thrifty PopWatchers: It turns out beloved home of full-lengthy goodness Hulu is not going to start charging after all. A source tells EW that the site’s rumored pay structure would only be in addition to its free content, not instead of it. And a collective “phew” was heard ’round the Internet. **Hulu Not Switching to a Paid Site** [http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/10/29/hulu-free/](http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/10/29/hulu-free/) ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/104 "2009-11-01T20:04:46Z")
I am a criminal. As we speak (you know what I mean) I am downloading Stargate Universe. I know that society will surely condemn me but, before executing me, hear my story. As many of you know I am from Argentina. Not many know that I am a young and handsome lawyer who works mostly with clients in the entertainment industry. This makes my crime even more offensive as does the fact that I specialize in copyright law. But I am not the only one guilty, in fact I am going to name one of my accomplices: Cecil Adams. You see, I joined the SDMB almost 9 years ago, fresh out of highschool. I discovered Cecil’s columns almost by accident and eventually I joined the boards. My favourite is Cafe Society and that’s because I enjoy Star Trek, Star Wars, Sci-fi literature etc. Call me a nerd if you want but in here there are lots of other ones. And that leads me to the reason why I am downloading Stargate Universe, there is a pretty interesting 6 pages thread going on and I enjoy it very much. This is my kind of show and I feel that I will enjoy it all the more by participating in the discussion (even as a lurker). But society has other plans: This show will be premiered in Argentina next year with luck (if it is premiered). Do you see my point? The business model is antiquated. I want Stargate Universe today. There are wonderful sites like Pandora or Hulu but I can’t use them because of my location no even, in the case of Pandora, if I am willing to pay (I would). So to answer the question I would pay for a site that allows me to watch a movie, tv series, etc when I want it with little or no fuzz. I don´t mind commercials either, if they are reasonable. That being said I find it funny that people claim that there is no money on internet: with the net you get a truly global market. With advances in target advertising and with subscriptions, eventually, you could get even more money than you do today. More than that no longer will a tv series like firefly be canceled because “it hasn’t found its audience”. With a global broadcasting you’ll get enough viewers even for “niche” products. For me there should any paid option has to offer: 1. A pay per view for the casual viewer. In this case the price has to be low enough to discourage users from illegal options. Who wouldn’t pay 99 cents to watch a favorite episode of Friends? 2. Subscription model where, for a price, I can select which shows or movies to watch. For example, for 15 dollars you get to choose 4 shows and some movies a month. For a price you get unlimited access. Any of those options has to add value to the consumer. Social networking to connect with other fans, the producers, writers and actors; crowdsourcing for subtitles; end of legal restrictions to mashups, parodies, criticism, etc; more interaction… I am not smart but I have hundreds of good ideas: the first 10 subscribers to Star Trek - Vulcan Babes get the chance to act as a redshirt; polls to determine who will be cast in a role, etc. I don’t enjoy torrents and I am willing to pay. I will also say that most people would pay to if the price is right and the product is good. We just need good businesses ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/105 "2009-11-01T22:03:33Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > You guys are kind of missing the point. You don’t buy Hulu to watch Discovery Channel documentaries, you buy it to watch Fox and NBC content. You’d pay for the Discovery Channel network to get the Discovery channel documentaries. I don’t know where you’re getting this from, either. ABC also has content on Hulu, it’s not like it’s exclusively Fox and NBC content. Actually, there’s [stuff from SciFi](http://www.hulu.com/sanctuary) (sorry, “SYFY”) on there too, and I’d wager there’s stuff from other networks as well. (I can’t say I really pay attention to which network a given show belongs to, since I’m not attempting to find it via channel selector or by network, just by show title.) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/106 "2009-11-01T22:12:56Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > I don’t know where you’re getting this from, either. ABC also has content on Hulu, it’s not like it’s exclusively Fox and NBC content. Actually, there’s [stuff from SciFi](http://www.hulu.com/sanctuary) (sorry, “SYFY”) on there too, and I’d wager there’s stuff from other networks as well. (I can’t say I really pay attention to which network a given show belongs to, since I’m not attempting to find it via channel selector or by network, just by show title.) Hulu was founded as a joint partnership between NBC and Fox. ABC only bought into the service this year (less than six months ago in fact). Also, the Sci-Fi Channel (excuse me, SyFy) is owned by NBC, so it makes sense that SyFy shows would appear on Hulu. ---
**Author:** ![Robbin\_Hood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Robbin\_Hood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robbin_Hood)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/107 "2009-11-01T23:34:49Z")
I watched Hulu frequently before I broke down and signed up for cable again. Now that I have, I am not watching Hulu anymore and would never pay for it regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/108 "2009-11-01T23:51:43Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Hulu was founded as a joint partnership between NBC and Fox. ABC only bought into the service this year (less than six months ago in fact). > > Also, the Sci-Fi Channel (excuse me, SyFy) is owned by NBC, so it makes sense that SyFy shows would appear on Hulu. Sure, but the point stands – there are more than two networks currently available on Hulu. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896/109 "2009-11-02T00:38:33Z")
PBS and the National Geographic Channel also have content available on Hulu, for what it’s worth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hulu-to-start-charging-sound-the-death-bells/514896.md?page=5)