Shadow
02-05-2012, 18:49
Hulu to shift model to TV Everywhere Michelle Clancy ©RapidTVNews | 02-05-2012 According to news reports, online TV operator Hulu plans to embrace TV Everywhere operations. The New York Post is reporting that the streaming site, which had 31 million unique users in March, is looking to avert so-called cord-cutters with a move to requiring a cable, satellite or IPTV subscription to authenticate in for current TV shows. Hulu was started as an ad-supported digital distribution experiment but has shifted its strategy over time. And this latest strategy would make an amount of sense for the site, which is owned by NBCUniversal, News Corp., Disney and private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. It offers plenty of content in an ad-supported model, but has been getting by financially on its subscription-based premium offering, Hulu Plus, which offers catch-up TV and current season fare from its media-company owners. But those same owners gain the majority of their revenue from their relationships with traditional TV providers like Comcast, which perhaps un-coincidentally, owns NBCUniversal. In many ways, Hulu works against their existing bread-and-butter revenue streams. Hulu, for now, is not commenting on the news reports.