Oh whatever will I do.....

What the heck is a hulu, and what kind of ritual sacrifice is needed to take it away? Why not just make it part of the already very good NBC website.

But... will Hulu be a pay service? Or will it be free like Youtube?

Hulu's = Pronounced "Who Lose"

I hope everyone finally gets around to posting television shows on the internet legally and for free. Just do it like the shows come over the air and show me a few commercials every few minutes.

Just do it better than Adult Swim and get more than one sponsor.

@CoffeeCup:

It's Hawaiian for "betamax."

Why is Drive up on the home page? Didn't Fox cancel that?

[www.techcrunch.com]
I don't think the translation is ironic, I think it's on purpose.

@Shadowfire: I could have sworn there was a previous Consumerist post about Hulu that answered that question but now I can't find it.

@EvilSquirrel: But Adult Swim doesn't shove the ads into the content you're watching in their video section! I like the lack of commercial interruption.

I'd like to see them stop all the people who are gonna just keep putting it back up. People don't like having this kind of thing dictated to them. I don't post on YouTube at all but I know people who do are really tenacious.

wow, between this and NBC getting bitchy with iTunes, they're doing everything they can to stomp all the goodwill they've built on the internet. Good job, NBC!

I like what NBC is doing so far.. they offer full streaming episodes for their popular shows, and at a decent compression quality. No commercials either. They also get major points for not requiring viewers to install player software, unlike ABC.

As for YouTube.. I really don't care. Almost all the user uploaded clips are really poor quality and not worth watching. Besides, people will eventually start using video sites that are hosted outside the USA where the DMCA doesn't apply.

It's really sad that these mega corporations feel that they have to monetize everything. All those clips on YouTube were uploaded by fans. It's free advertising for the show and the network! I guess NBC quickly forgot that the number of SNL television viewers went up significantly after the "Lazy Sunday" was unleashed on the Web. Oh well.

I was initially furious about the iTunes debacle, but since they let you watch "The Office" free online (I don't have a TV) I was relieved. The ads are annoying, but since NBC hasn't sued me after they caught me downloading their shows with BitTorrent, I'm a bit more tolerant of them.

This really ticks me off. It's all well and good for NBC to put it on their own website, if you are American. But what about the rest of us out here on the WORLD wide web? All the American networks continue to region-block their sites from us (even though we already get the shows on tv, it is not like it's being censored or anything, we just can't watch on-line). It is a such a lost opportunity for them to sell more advertising and attract more viewers, and it is a lost opportunity for the viewers too. My experience has been that exclusivity only leads to drm and region-lock and control and annoyingness. I like Youtube because I can actually watch stuff on it!

Even NBC is allowed to make a fool of themselves.

When I first read that, I thought it said "Huhu." That's almost a better name for the project.

Hulu is a joint venture between NBC Universal and Fox.

Actually the 'H' is silent it's pronounced 'You Lose'.

@LatherRinseRepeat: i prefer abc's full episode viewer to nbcs. nbc's commercials on their player are EXTREMELY LOUD that watching the office or heroes using their system is painful.

what abc and nbc are doing well is the interactive commercial bits. you know, where you can view different video clips or play a game, instead of the usual 30 second video stream. my favorite so far: Sprint/Nextel's waitless.org commercials: [www.waitless.org] and the how to peel a hard boiled egg in 5 seconds.

@forever_knight: Yeah, I also noticed their commercials were loud and was pleasantly surprised when I found ABC's were not. I just hit the mute button if the ad is too loud, but leave the sound on if it isn't. Hmm, I wonder if there is a lesson there for the networks... Nope -- Can't think of anything.

But this does open a whole new dimension to advertising. I think I was watching "30-Rock" and the advertising sequence featured an annoying woman ordering pizza online. Right there, next to the ad, was a button for ordering pizza.

@JoannaC:

They region-lock because they don't own the rights to that programming in other markets, and the rights owners want to be able to sell it into other markets. Happens the other way too - you can't watch Dr. Who on the BBC website if you're in the US b/c BBC sold the US rights to the Sci-Fi channel.

@TechnoDestructo: HAHAHAHA!! Oh, you get three points for that!

But they have already sold the 'rights' in my market because it airs on television here---in one case, a full day earlier than it does in the USA. And of course, on Youtube, I can watch whatever is there. Region-locking is stupid. Put it on-line, or don't, but this is the world wide web, and it should be accessible to the 'world.' Sell it to the tv station, charge them a little extra and let them put a link on their site to your video player, if you must have full control over it. But region-locking is absolutely a mistake because by opening their stuff to the larger market, they garner goodwill, gain viewers for the terrestrial airing, gain viewers on-line (which means they can sell more advertising) and conduct business as befits the modern era.

Also, in my area (near the US border) I can get some American networks without going through a Canadian carrier. So, I am in effect their legitimate customer too, and they own all the rights they need to air to me. I should be allowed to watch it on-line the same way the people in Buffalo who watch the exact same station can. Region-locking it backward, overly restrictive, inefficient, and prevents legitimate customers from accessing legitimate content. It is a terrible, terrible idea.