Hulu exceeding plan, embraces affiliates
Cory Bergman April 16th, 2008
Updated: I attended Hulu CEO Jason Kilar’s keynote, and he announced that traffic has tripled over the last four weeks (since leaving beta) and revenue is already exceeding plan. To date, Hulu clips have been embedded 105,000 times on 12,000 sites (short embedded clips have overlay ads, longer clips have :15 pre-rolls). Some shows, like Hulu’s most popular, Arrested Development (an “unbelievable stat,” he says), are pulling in higher CPMs than network TV shows in primetime. Kilar said Hulu’s mission is a bold one: “Help people find and enjoy the world’s premium content when, where and how they want it.” So clearly, Hulu has a long ways to go, but Kilar said many more content providers will soon be on board. One of Kilar’s key points was his team’s obsession with design simplicity. “It can’t look like Toyko at night” like many other content websites out there, he said, adding that his team obsessed over whitespace, nitpicked over the muted navigation and worked hard on video quality. (By the way, I love Hulu’s design.) When asked about local affiliates, he said Hulu’s not a competitor, and he encouraged local TV sites to become distributors of Hulu’s “entire content library.” One woman from the audience said she was contemplating canceling her cable, but Kilar brought up Hulu’s relationship with Comcast’s Fancast and said the service is additive, not a replacement of TV viewing. Have an “offensive attitude, not defensive,” he told the media attendees, bringing up that American Idol has 25 million TV viewers and a “non-audience” of 278 million who may want to watch it online. And when asked when Hulu will be wired into TV sets, he said he couldn’t discuss details of his product roadmap but it’s a “fantastic opportunity,” along with mobile applications, as well.
One other thing: did you know that when you search for a non-Hulu show on Hulu, like ABC’s Lost, that the search result will link you to the show on ABC.com? Smart thinking.
10 Comments Add your own
1. sam.beal | April 16th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Hulu is a great product. How do people watch it where it belongs - on the flat panel TV in the living room / den / bedroom?
2. Stephan | April 16th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
You know, I was look at Hulu the other night, and wondering “I wonder if we can embed their content on our site?” Guess that answers that question… (Yes, I know it is technically possible to embed it.. I was thinking more in terms of use)
3. Stephan | April 16th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Hmmm.. In their terms of use:
“Hulu is pleased to grant you a limited license to access and make personal, non-commercial use of the Hulu Services. ”
How does an affiliate become distributors of Hulu’s “entire content library” can still keep it personal and non-commercial?
4. wren | April 17th, 2008 at 4:57 am
I am sure HULU’s success will be noted by the actual creators and owners of HULU’s “entire content library”. These guys couldn’t pay for a 30 minute pilot if their Blackberry depended on it.
5. Hussman | April 17th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Nice site and all but their search function is a complete joke.
6. Don Day | April 17th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Hussman - can you explain that comment? I’ve been using the search engine in the past few days and find it to be fast, complete and the most comprehensive look at premium video online.
7. Hussman | April 18th, 2008 at 5:58 am
Don, as an example. I type in “Saturday night live justin timberlake” (no quotes)… the first page of results has absolutely no clips of Mr. Timberlake. The first clip is actually an SNL skit with John Belushi.
Unless I’m doing it wrong…
8. Joel | April 18th, 2008 at 9:55 am
The whole “premium content when, where and how they want it.” statement is ridiculous. If I can’t get it a show on iTunes that I have connected to Apple TV it’s not how I want it. NBC stop pouring the Kool-Aid and put your content back on iTunes.
9. Charles | April 19th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Joel,
I believe that the statement is for people who don’t mind getting their online television for free.
10. discreet_chaos | April 20th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I don’t know if anyone’s coming back here to read the comments to this older post, but just in case someone from Hulu is so motivated…
In the original post, Cory made mention of the fact that you could type “Lost” into the Hulu search engine and be pointed toward the ABC site. And, I’ve said or have implied a couple of times that my family is now watching more television online than we are on the actual set.
I’ve really been a big fan of Hulu, since I first was admitted to the beta and now I sometimes use it as a babysitter because I’m reroofing the house and there’s a few old shows that I can pull up for my kids, so that they’ll be distracted or out of the way.
The other day, I decided to introduce my daughter to “Wonder Woman” (w/ Lynda Carter) and I knew it was available through AOL’s In2TV subsidiary (which really just redirects back to video.aol), but I decided to try and get there through the Hulu search. My thinking was that I wouldn’t have to point the way to a new site and introduce the idea of all of those shows, but apparently the Hulu search doesn’t include any of AOL’s vast offerings.
Of course it’d be best for me, if Hulu included all of the shows available (for free and to the public) that are hosted by AOL, but I really don’t mind having to go through their site, but if Hulu is going to include their competitors in their search, then they might want to add the stuff from AOL.
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