Why You'll Be Using NBC/News Corp's Hulu Long After YouTube Fades

When NBC and News Corp announced two years ago that they were creating a new online destination to compete with YouTube, the web elites scoffed at the idea. Google reportedly privately referred to the new venture as “ClownCo.” Now that Hulu has officially opened to the public, it looks like the clowns will be having the last laugh.

Hulu has done a lot of things right - the interface is clean, it’s easy to find content you’re interested in, and embedding and sharing videos could not be easier. But the smartest thing Hulu did was what it didn’t do: try to compete head-on with YouTube. YouTube dominates user-generated videos and Hulu wisely stayed away from this. Hulu’s assets are the thousands of television shows and movies that are owned by NBC and News Corp. This is what will start to really give YouTube problems in the long run. Would you rather watch yet another grainy video of some cute kitties on YouTube or full-length episodes of 24?

Hulu isn’t perfect. It needs to have more content, especially full-length TV shows and movies. Hulu too often feels like a promotional vehicle for NBC and News Corp’s content, rather than a destination to actually consume that content. But I think that will happen over time. When Hulu’s owners see the traffic surge and start to realize the enormous revenue potential, my guess is that they will pour on the content - and they’ve got lots of it.

Comments

[dentist:]

Yeah sure, Hulu is great, unless you leave the U.S. *rolleyes*

2008 Apr 07 07:55 AM

[JackNightin...:]

But come on - there’s much more than cats and dogs on YouTube! And it’s often extraordinarily fresh and original stuff. Some of us are tired of that same old homogenized entertainment product manufactured by toupe wearing men from Westchester.

2008 Apr 07 10:29 AM

[User 67883:]

There's enough TV shows on TV! YouTube is fresh and edited content.

2008 Apr 07 12:44 PM

[whisperonth...:]

Hulu is terrific. YouTube is okay for personal content, but Hulu has them beat hands down for movies and tv. The commercials are short, and so far I've only seen one at each break. Beats having to find the next in a series by searching, just to complete a tv program on YouTube, and it beats having to get past the scratchy volume on YouTube when I can get the original soundtrack on Hulu.

I don't think 'fresh and edited' go together. "Edited" content is no longer fresh. Now it's used.

2008 Apr 07 07:35 PM