The Internet video site is weighing plans to charge
users to watch episodes of “30 Rock,” “Modern Family” and “House.” The
move would mark a sharp change of course for the venture, which was
launched nearly two years ago by a consortium of studios to distribute
without charge TV shows and movies over the Internet.
The site has spent months studying how to strike a
balance between what people expect to watch for free online and for
what they would be willing to pay, according to a person familiar with
the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.
One plan under consideration would allow users to
view the five most recent episodes of TV shows for free, but require a
subscription of
Hulu believes it will need at least 20 television series — both current
and those no longer on the air — to make such a pay service attractive
to users. A firm pricing model could emerge within six months, they
said.
A Hulu spokeswoman declined to comment.
Hulu’s plan to charge for some programs comes as
many publishers are similarly grappling over how to get people to pay
for online content they’ve long gotten for free.
On Wednesday, in a development that could have implications for embattled newspapers,
unveiled its awaited plan to charge online readers for stories. The
Times will adopt a “metered” approach, starting next year, in which
users can read a limited number of articles before being charged.
Hulu and the Times join a growing lineup of companies that are building pay walls around their content.
Internet radio company
“The economic reality of any type of content is that you need people to put some money into the tip jar,” said
That imperative has grown as advertising dollars
flooding online is expected to slow. Research firm eMarketer estimates
that online advertising will grow 40 percent this year, down from a 127
percent increase last year.
movies, YouTube videos, Pandora music and other online media directly
to their TVs, on Wednesday introduced a way for studios and publishers
to charge for on-demand content rather than rely on advertising.
“This lets content owners dictate the way they want to sell online,” said
Boxee’s vice president of marketing. “There will be more content
available online, and there’s not going to be one clear way to win.
What we’re saying is, work with us to try out some different business
models and see what works.”
Analysts say Hulu may be preparing to deliver its
video service through the array of Internet-connected TVs, game
consoles and other devices that were on display everywhere at the
recent Consumer Electronics Show in
“The whole reason Hulu needs to consider a
subscription model is that the long-term play for online video is not
to computers, it’s to a collection of other devices — connected TVs,
video game consoles,” said
Indeed,
has found that an increasing percentage of its subscribers use an
on-demand service to watch movies through Internet-connected video game
consoles, Blu-ray players and other devices connected to the TV.
Hulu, a partnership between NBC Universal,
and Providence Equity Partners, has emerged as an Internet darling —
and a thorn in the side of some investors, who see the site not as a
defense against piracy or video phenomenon YouTube but as a threat to
the economics of the television business.
Cable operators, in particular, protested Hulu allowing free Internet access to shows like FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in
or USA Networks’ “Psych,” which were previously available only to their
subscribers. Hulu responded by reining in online access to certain
cable programs.
Many media analysts expect that
plan to buy controlling interest in NBC Universal will give it a
significant say in the future of online video — and accelerate Hulu’s
move to a subscription service.
For newspapers, the announcement by
It’s not the first time the company tried to get
readers to pony up. It ended its TimesSelect online subscription
program in 2007, even though the effort generated
“We’ve learned several things from TimesSelect,” said Times spokeswoman,
Among them: People will pay for content online, McNulty said, and that
publishers “have to carefully weigh the benefits of an advertising and
a subscription model.”
The company has seen the part of its revenue come
from selling ads on its digital properties grow from 4 percent in 2004
to 13.4 percent in the first nine months of 2009.
“
president of media consultant Magid Advisors. “The person who comes
once or twice for a really big news article is never going to become a
payer, so let’s not try to force them. Let’s not try to make a sheep
into a cow. The most frequent viewers should be paying the most.”
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