Comments on: The End Of Hulu As We Know It (And Comcast Feels Fine) http://paidcontent.org/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/ The economics of digital content Fri, 13 Dec 2013 18:54:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Nicole http://paidcontent.org/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81483 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:03:48 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81483 Nicole here, thank you for saying the truth about Comcast. I just want to add that Comcast still doesn’t have the ability to provide their customers with live TV everywhere. The ability to have live TV everywhere has already been done by DISH Network. For new and existing customers the Sling Adapter has been made available and allows access to not only live TV but also DVR recordings from any laptop or Smartphone from any where there’s high-speed internet. As a DISH Network employee I was a bit appalled the Comcast is making claims of achieving true TV everywhere.

]]> By: karl long http://paidcontent.org/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81482 Sun, 26 Dec 2010 23:02:44 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81482 I wonder if a hulu & netflix partnership would be more compelling. I for one would pay for a subscription that got me both of those services, but hulu on it’s own is much too limited in breadth of content. I also agree with Tom, Comcast should just stop trying to build it’s own brand for streaming content and start working with some folks who already have winning formulas.

]]> By: Tom http://paidcontent.org/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81481 Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:15:25 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81481 Comcast’s Xfinity play is very similar to Hulu. But as wisely stated in the article Hulu has a much stronger brand than Xfinity. Comcast should buy out the other investors in Hulu and use Hulu as their TV Everywhere play. Kill Xfinity and stop wasting money building a brand from scratch.

Then if you subscribe to Comcast you can add Hulu as part of your package and suddenly have all of your content on every device. Hulu can’t pull premium content, Comcast can. Comcast has far more power when it comes to getting access to premium content than either Netflix or Google.

]]> By: John Loken http://paidcontent.org/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81480 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:38:28 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81480 I see similarities to the early evolution of digital distribution in the music space. Starting around 2002, in response to illegal file-sharing, the major content owners (labels) tried to ban together in various configurations, such as Pressplay, MusicNet, and later, MySpace Music, in order to perpetuate the controlled access model they’d enjoyed for decades. Fast forward ten years and Hulu seems to suffer from many of the same problems: complex rights issues, intractable partner/owners, and most importantly, an insatiable public appetite for free alternatives. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley entities — in Hulu’s case Netflix and YouTube, in the record industry’s case Napster and iTunes — are waiting in the wings to disrupt.

Here’s how this plays out: the competitor that understands consumer behavior and is best positioned to “delight” wins. Unfortunately, the major studios, and the canaries in the coal mine they’ve apparently ignored, their record label cousins, do not have a strong track record in this area. Almost seems better at this stage to disaggregate content creation from distribution, and approach the latter in a platform-agnostic manner. Negotiate equitable terms (see: river of nickels) and stop squandering shareholder value resisting the forces of creative destruction.

]]> By: John Loken http://paidcontent.org/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81479 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:30:18 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81479 I see similarities to the early evolution of digital distribution in the music space. Starting around 2002, in response to illegal file-sharing, the major content owners (labels) tried to ban together in various configurations, such as Pressplay, MusicNet, and later, MySpace Music, in order to perpetuate the controlled access model they’d enjoyed for decades. Fast forward ten years and Hulu seems to suffer from many of the same problems: complex rights issues, intractable partner/owners, and most importantly, an insatiable public appetite for free alternatives. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley entities — in Hulu’s case Netflix and YouTube, in the record industry’s case Napster and iTunes — are waiting in the wings to disrupt.

Here’s how this plays out: the competitor that understands consumer behavior and is best positioned to “delight” wins. Unfortunately, the major studios, and the canaries in the coal mine they’ve apparently ignored, their record label cousins, do not have a strong track record in this area. Almost seems better at this stage to disaggregate content creation from distribution, and approach the latter in a platform-agnostic manner. Negotiate equitable terms (see: river of nickels) and stop squandering shareholder value resisting the forces of creative destruction.

Similarly, what unique expertise does Comcast, a physical pipeline business, bring to the D2C online space? Unless the cost of developing these competencies and systems internally

]]> By: Adam Wright http://paidcontent.org/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81478 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:02:37 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2010/12/21/419-the-end-of-hulu-as-we-know-it-and-comcast-feels-fine/#comment-81478 Andy, great analysis! This is something I’ve been saying for a while! I only see this as a win-win for many Cable providers – basically outsourcing OTT & Online on demand while possibly bringing in some revenue based on Revenue Share from Ads. The only problem in its way from many cable insiders is the amount of money that Comcast, et al have already put into their awful clunky TV Everywhere Initiatives. Big Bucks backed these initiatives and its always hard to let them go.

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