Hulu brings free NBC and Fox shows

Written by Phil Cogar

October 31, 2007 | 14:24

Tags: #ad-supported #fox #tv-shows #videos

Companies: #hulu #nbc

While YouTube continues to be served with lawsuit after lawsuit, NBC and News Corp have teamed up with several networks and studios to launch an ad-supported site called Hulu. The site goes live on Monday, and will provide free full-length films and episodes of popular TV programs, supported by inline advertisements. In addition to TV shows from networks including NBC, Fox, Bravo, E!, and the Sci-Fi channel, films from Sony and MGM will also be available.

Hulu will also support embedding, which coincides with the growing social networking trend of linking favorite videos on user profiles and more. Users will also be able to select specific clips and email them to friends, allowing them to share specific moments from their favorite shows and movies.

This news comes shortly after NBC have announced that it is pulling all of its content from the iTunes store.

NBC CEO Jeff Zucker claims that Apple has “destroyed the music business” with its music store, and refuses to allow it to do the same with video. Of course this comes after Steve Jobs, who has been known to regularly defend lower-priced media and support DRM-free products in order to offer fair products to customers, has refused to comply with Zucker’s demands. One of these demands was a share of iPod sales, claiming "Apple sold millions of dollars worth of hardware off the back of our content, and made a lot of money,” which obviously must have saved the dying iPod brand…oh wait.

Another one of Zucker’s perfectly reasonable requests was that Apple break the otherwise uniform pricing of $1.99 per episode across its iTunes store and price one NBC show at $2.99. This of course comes not too long after NBC credited Apple with saving The Office, which has become a hit show since.

However the dust settles, though, the consumer wins; free shows and movies on Hulu, free sharing of your own clips on YouTube, and music and non-NBC TV episodes still priced reasonably in the iTunes store.

Do you think that this is a win-win situation? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Discuss this in the forums
YouTube logo
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review

October 14 2021 | 15:04

TOP STORIES

SUGGESTED FOR YOU