Hulu: The free ride is nearing its end

Hulu, the website where you can watch shows from ABC, NBC and Fox, isn't going to be free much longer. It has opened a new pay site where for $9.99 a month you can watch unlimited numbers of old episodes of not only shows like Bones and Desperate Housewives but blasts from the past like Miami Vice and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Hulu's free site still exists, but it's only got recent episodes of ongoing series. And if it turns out that viewers are willing to cough up money at the pay site, the free one will soon be a thing of the past. As TiVo and other DVRs render commercials obsolete, the networks have got to find a different way to pay the bills. And now they're hoping they have.

Comments

[just sayin]

will they let people who pay wirelessly stream current and old eps to tv sets? for that i would pay and would no longer need even basic cable. this would be cheaper than that.

[jvgreen]

An expat who would like to follow the latest offerings from the the world's cultural Mecca was disappointed when the no-pay Hulu blocked him based on ip-origination. After a tedious installation process. I might be interested in a pay subscription, if I were not blocked. Yesterday I found myself watching Golden Eye on the tele even though there was at least on DVD of the same on the shelf. Viewers are quirky. Hulu-for-pay sounds like a toss up at best.