tagged w/ Hulu
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Windows/Mac/Linux/Apple TV: Now your friends can actually try out Boxee. The open-source app that TV-sizes your files and streaming web content is available in beta for Windows, and updated on other platforms with neat apps and fixes.
Besides the general advent of a much wider user base being able to get the same kind of wide-screened, media-centric experience that Mac, Linux, and Apple TV users have been enjoying for months, Boxee's latest version streamlines the left-hand interface, parceling web-based sources into "Applications" and the files on your system into "Local Files."Windows/Mac/Linux/Apple TV: Now your friends can actually try out Boxee. The... more
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For the better part of a decade, people like me have been pronouncing that theatrical motion-picture distribution, at least when it came to independent films, was going the way of the passenger pigeon and the daily print newspaper. (You won't believe this, kids, but somebody used to come to your house every single morning with a rolled-up log of paper wrapped in plastic and rubber bands!) Some mystical convergence of the Internet, cable TV, the hand-held SmartHooble and other, yet-to-be-invented networks and devices would open the doors to a hellish new Nirvana of unlimited, 24/7 hi-def cinema, from the most massive Hollywood spectacles to the most obscure art-house offerings.
Well, the future is here, sort of. And as usual with the future, it's not a yes-or-no proposition. Online movie delivery has exploded in the last year, at least compared to its virtual nonexistence before that. Within a few clicks from this page, you could be watching a documentary about barehanded fishing in Oklahoma, the Soviet-era magic-realist classic "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" or "Hotel for Dogs." Come September, Sally Potter's new film "Rage" will premiere as a series of episodes on Babelgum, at the same time it's released in theaters and on DVD. The Palestinian film "Laila's Birthday," an international festival favorite with no theatrical deal, was recently made available for three weeks on the Auteurs, a new cinephile streaming site that's currently in beta.
Those are just examples; I could pick dozens more. But online distribution remains an insignificant factor in the film economy (if anything, movie theaters are thriving in the current recession), and it represents a tiny proportion of the video watched on computer screens. One could argue, in fact, that feature films and the Internet are mismatched forms of media; the former demands long stretches of undivided attention while the latter thrives on multitasking, rapid response time and brief info-bursts. When was the last time you spent 90 minutes or more sitting at your computer and looking at the same thing?
Still, more and more movies are available online every month, and new modes of delivering them seem to crop up almost as fast. Last October marked a turning point of sorts. That was when YouTube streamed the week-long premiere of indie pioneer Wayne Wang's "The Princess of Nebraska" (as a companion piece to his theatrical release, "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers") and Hulu streamed its first full-length feature, the George W. Bush-related documentary "Crawford."
Those examples represent one model for online distribution: streaming video-on-demand, or VOD, that's free to the user and best understood as a promotional opportunity for the filmmaker and distributor. In the case of Hulu, some advertising revenue presumably flowed back to the makers of "Crawford" -- probably in the range of a few cents per viewer -- but the real value lay in getting the movie out to a large audience during an election season. (A Hulu source reports that "Crawford" remains the most-discussed video in the site's history.) YouTube's Screening Room site is not ad-supported, but Wang's film got 153,000 views in a week, far more eyeballs than he could likely have gotten from a small-scale, bicoastal theatrical release. DVD and television deals followed, so quite possibly the experiment paid off.
Free VOD streaming definitely isn't the only game in town. There are three basic themes in digital distribution -- the other two, essentially, being online video rental (paid VOD streaming) and online video purchase (paid downloads) -- and many variations upon them. Some online exhibitors, including iTunes, Netflix, Amazon and IndiePix, try to enable various ways of leapfrogging their content over the Berlin Wall between your computer and your TV set. Others, including Hulu, Joost, Jaman and the Auteurs, deliver content to your laptop and leave the rest to you. Yes, I hear you, technophiles: It's easy to connectFor the better part of a decade, people like me have been pronouncing that theatrical... more
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It’s no secret that the Internet TV service Hulu (Hulu reviews) has been on the rise in recent months. Its rapid growth can be attributed to many factors, but the fact that Hulu is owned by News Corp (FOX), NBC, and most recently Disney (ABC) has provided it with a huge edge in content.
Now it seems that Hulu’s success hasn’t gone unnoticed by the movie industry. Quietly, Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM studios have been working together on a new project that will create a new TV channel and sister website for streaming movies: Epix. And while Epix is in private beta (for now), it promises to offer hundreds of full-length movies for your viewing pleasure, but with a few important caveats.
The Epix Project
EpixHD Screen Image
Epix comes in two parts: a television channel and a Hulu-like website. The television channel will show recent and popular movies from Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM. This means you could watch Iron Man, Cloverfield, or even Raging Bull. Movies will air uninterrupted on the channel - no commercials.
It may sound a lot like some premium movie channel offerings already on the market, but it differs from HBO and Showtime in one major aspect: they don’t want you to pay for it. Epix’s intent is to strike deals with cable and satellite providers to bring you the channel as part of your standard TV package.
The Epix channel is only half the story, however. Epix has a fully-functional sister website, EpixHD.com. This website has hundreds of movies from the libraries of the three movie studios. As long as the movie is available for airing on the TV channel, it will be available to stream online. And since most movies have a lifespan of about 2 years on TV, it adds up to a lot of movies.It’s no secret that the Internet TV service Hulu (Hulu reviews) has been on the... more
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"Hulu downplayed talk that its new desktop application will encourage more consumers to flip on their computers rather than their TVs. But network execs say they believe it's another chess move in the battle over the living room, which is about to get a whole lot bloodier. ""Hulu downplayed talk that its new desktop application will encourage more... more
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Do you like Hulu? Do you own a Roku? If you do, you may want to read about this potential partnership. If you have no idea what Roku or Hulu are, come on in and educate yourself.Do you like Hulu? Do you own a Roku? If you do, you may want to read about this... more
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Don't get too attached to all that free, high-quality video on Hulu. It just might disappear behind a pay wall before too long.
Speaking last night at an Internet Week event sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter, Jonathan Miller, News Corp.'s newly-installed chief digital officer, said he envisions a future where at least some of the TV shows and movies on Hulu, the premium video site co-owned by News Corp. (NWS), NBC Universal and Disney (DIS), are available only to subscribers.
Miller, whose last job was running AOL (parent of Daily Finance), prefaced his remark by noting that he won't attend his first Hulu board meeting until Monday, so the scenario he foresees is merely his own speculation. But, he continued, "in my opinion the answer could be yes. I don't see why over time that shouldn't happen. I don't think it's on the agenda for Monday [but] it seems to me that over time that could be a logical thing."
--WTF!Don't get too attached to all that free, high-quality video on Hulu. It just... more
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Hulu Desktop brings a new and more simple interface that many TV viewers are used to. The remote.Hulu Desktop brings a new and more simple interface that many TV viewers are used to.... more
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Om speculates that the reason Hulu banned Boxee because it was in the process of launching its own desktop app, not because the networks don't want you watching Hulu on your TV. What do you think?
"The launch of this desktop application explains why Hulu went after Boxee, the New York-based startup that developed an interesting content aggregation platform. The two companies tussled for a long time. It was believed that Hulu’s big bad backers were forcing its hand against Boxee. The launch of the desktop app shows that Hulu was being nothing but anti-competitive in an underhanded sort of way."Om speculates that the reason Hulu banned Boxee because it was in the process of... more
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Hulu now offers a simple solution to their service. Hulu Desktop eliminates having to go to their website all the time to watch your favorite shows.
From Hulu's site:
Hulu Desktop is a lean-back viewing experience for your personal computer. It features a sleek new look that's optimized for use with standard Windows Media Center remote controls or Apple remote controls, allowing you to navigate Hulu's entire library with just six buttons. For users without remotes, the application is keyboard and mouse-enabled. Hulu Desktop is a downloadable application and will work on PCs and Macs. It will initially launch as a beta product during which we plan to gather and incorporate user feedback to improve the service.Hulu now offers a simple solution to their service. Hulu Desktop eliminates having to... more
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Forget your iPlayer and the chance to catch up with Dot from EastEnders, Hulu is where the good stuff is!
For the uninitiated, Hulu - backed by News Corp, NBC and Disney - is similar to iPlayer but has more than the last 7 days programming and more than just one broadcaster's content.
It would appear that the service, currently blocked to anyone outside the US, will launch by September and that ITV and Channel 4 are on board.
There have been rumours about this for the past week but this Telegraph article from yesterday adds a little more credence.Forget your iPlayer and the chance to catch up with Dot from EastEnders, Hulu is where... more
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"Hulu, the online TV service launched two years ago by Fox and NBC, has enjoyed incredible success with viewers — too much, it may turn out.
Two weeks ago, comScore’s report that Hulu had pulled into the top three streaming video sites was quickly followed by news that Disney — the corporate parent of ABC and ESPN—was taking a stake in the venture. But in the long run, those two milestones could be overshadowed by a seemingly much smaller bit of news: the decision in January to pull most episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia from the site.
In theory, at least, the availability of such shows on Hulu threatens two of the key financial underpinnings of cable TV: DVD sales and carriage fees. Comcast and its brethren pay the cable networks to carry their programming, and the idea that Internet users can watch the same shows online for free is not popular in places like, well, Philadelphia — or at least that corner of it where Comcast is headquartered. Stock analysts aren’t exactly thrilled with the concept, either.
Shortly after removing the Sunny episodes, Hulu took another unpopular step: It shut off access to its programming from Boxee, the fledgling service that enables you to stream online video to your TV set. In a blog posted titled “Doing Hard Things,” Hulu CEO Jason Kilar apologized to users. “Our content providers requested that we turn off access to our content via the Boxee product,” he wrote, “and we are respecting their wishes.”
It’s not hard to see what’s at work here. If cable and satellite operators are threatened by your ability to watch free shows on your computer, imagine how they feel about letting you watch free shows on your TV. What if people decide they can do without those expensive bundles of programming? Of course, companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable don’t even begin to replicate Hulu’s breadth — its readiness to stream every episode of every series it can get its hands on — or its ease of use. The BitTorrent sites aren’t exactly a breeze, but at least they let you get what you want.""Hulu, the online TV service launched two years ago by Fox and NBC, has enjoyed... more
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Until the game-changing Hulu app drops, fans of 30 Rock, The Office, and other NBC shows can catch them full-screen on their iPhone or iPod touch, as well as on a few other mobile phones.Until the game-changing Hulu app drops, fans of 30 Rock, The Office, and other NBC... more
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If you don't know Hulu is a "successful and rather brilliant US VoD service" that, if these reports are true, could be coming to good ol' Blighty very, very soon!
According to Techradar, Hulu has just purchased a whole heap of UK content from the Digital Rights Group which includes Green Wing, Peep Show and Martin Clunes' least funny TV show, Doc Martin. At first I thought this might just be the US wanting to watch our bloody amazing TV shows, but when I saw Doc Martin on the list that theory went out the window.
Recently, Hulu also stuck a deal with Endemol, Big Brother's owner as well as Disney AND have been in talks with BBC and ITV about carrying their shows.
OMG! Please let this be true.If you don't know Hulu is a "successful and rather brilliant US VoD... more
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DISNEY to join NBC UNIVERSAL, NEWS CORPORATION, and PROVIDENCE EQUITY PARTNERS as an equity owner of HULU.
Full episodes of hit current and library programs like Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Dancing with the Stars, Ugly Betty, Private Practice, Scrubs (which was on Hulu when it aired on NBC), Wizards of Waverly Place, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, General Hospital, The View, Greek, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and other hit series from ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel and SOAPnet to come to Hulu.com and its distribution sites.
Hulu is the third most watched video site on the internet behind YouTube and MySpace.DISNEY to join NBC UNIVERSAL, NEWS CORPORATION, and PROVIDENCE EQUITY PARTNERS as an... more
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co has reached a deal to become a partner in the popular video website Hulu founded by NBC Universal and News Corp.
Disney's much-anticipated entrance, after a long period of talks between the companies, will add full-length episodes of TV shows from its ABC broadcast network like "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" to the site.
In addition to providing content, Disney will also make a financial investment in the site, although Hulu officials declined to provide details on the deal on Thursday.
Hulu has emerged as one of the most popular online video destinations since its launch in 2007. Last month, some 380 million videos were viewed on Hulu, up 14.3 percent from February, according to market research firm comScore. It is now among the top three online video sites in the United States.
The addition of Disney means that the owners of three of the four major broadcast networks -- ABC, NBC and Fox -- have partnership stakes in Hulu. Only CBS Corp's CBS is absent from the arrangement.
Hulu Chief Executive Jason Kilar said conversations with CBS are continuing. "We'd love to have them be a part of Hulu ... ultimately it's their decision," he told Reuters in an interview.
In a statement, CBS said it believes in "controlling our own rights" for content across media.
"CBS has long employed open, non-exclusive content partnerships that allow fans across the Internet to engage with our programing in such a way that we control our distribution, sales and profit," it said. 16:21NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co has reached a deal to become a partner in the... more
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From slatev.com
Hulu maybe the second most popular video site in the US (behind YouTube, shame you can't access Hulu outside the US), but would you ever see these messages before the show is loaded up?From slatev.com
Hulu maybe the second most popular video site in the US (behind... more
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Hulu.com is working on bringing its television-streaming service to the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch, according to a report from Silicon Alley Insider.
The app reportedly will be in the App Store within a few months, and it will enable mobile users to watch TV shows and movies over Wi-Fi and 3G. The app will only work when the user has a steady mobile Internet connection, and it probably won't work over an EDGE connection because of bandwidth needs. Representatives from Hulu and Apple did not respond to press inquiries for comment as of publication time.
While there are already video-streaming iPhone apps from Joost and TV.com, neither is as popular as Hulu. The Web site offers a large catalogue of current and classic TV shows from Fox and NBC, and it's reportedly in negotiations to get content from ABC and ESPN. Hulu has been immensely popular with viewers and advertisers, and it continues to see strong growth thanks in part to a multimillion-dollar ad campaign.
As more and more users surf the Web from their mobile handsets, sites like Hulu will inevitably try to capitalize by providing shows and ads on the go. The iPhone is an especially attractive mobile platform because its users have downloaded nearly 1 billion apps in less than a year, and they tend to use more mobile data than other smartphone users.
There are a few technical hurdles, as Hulu's Web site uses Adobe (NSDQ: ADBE)'s Flash technology and the iPhone platform does not support this. This can be overcome, though, as YouTube is also a Flash-heavy site but the iPhone is able to decode its videos through with a dedicated app.Hulu.com is working on bringing its television-streaming service to the iPhone 3G and... more
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Google took the wraps off a partnership with Hollywood studios bringing movies and TV shows to U.S. consumers via its YouTube video network. Some of the big-named partners inking a deal with YouTube are Sony, CBS, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, BBC and independent film studio Lions Gate Entertainment. Each agreed to showcase some of their catalog content on the Google-owned video site.
Separated from the plethora of user-generated videos, the shows and movies are situated in a dedicated Shows section on YouTube, available from the main page. The content offered will be free to view but it is supported by ads -- the revenue being shared with content owners.
YouTube's move to premium content comes to counter the ever-growing popularity of sites like Hulu, which freely offer movies and TV shows for viewing. However, most of the studio movies and shows added on YouTube are more than a decade old (Fantasy Island, Alf, Party of Five), while NBC-owned Hulu offers most of the new shows just a few days after they air on TV.
Google is hoping that these full-length movies and video will help YouTube salvage through advertising revenue some of the over $500 million some predict it loses yearly on bandwidth costs. In ordeGoogle took the wraps off a partnership with Hollywood studios bringing movies and TV... more
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YouTube Adds Movies, TV; Fails Miserably
Partners like Crackle, CBS, MGM, Lionsgate, and Starz made thousands of TV episodes and hundreds of movies available on YouTube for consumers to watch for free beginning on Thursday, in a bid to challenge Hulu for dominance in the online video space.
Don't believe it. Google has amassed a TV lineup only a sick old retiree could love, with movies that belong in the dollar VHS bin. At this point, the shocking lack of content only highlights how competitors like Hulu can and will succeed in a cutthroat market where content is king. Quite frankly, it's a little embarrassing.
The new YouTube format includes both a "Shows" and a "Subscriptions" tab. Users can access to both TV shows and movie in the 'Shows" tab, and sign up for "fresh content from their favorite creators," via "Subscriptions," according to a blog post from Shiva Rajaraman, a product manager at Google, and Sara Pollack, an entertainment marketing manager. Subscriptions aren't curently allowed outside the United States, but they will be soon, they said.
Unfortunately, neither indicated the startling lack of quality content within the new offerings.
Don't believe me? Poke around for yourself. In the "Classics" movie section there iYouTube Adds Movies, TV; Fails Miserably
Partners like Crackle, CBS, MGM,... more
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Google-owned YouTube, bowing to the success of rival online video site Hulu, is shifting beyond short-form clips with a new area devoted to TV shows and older movies.
Unlike Hulu, which has access to most of the current prime-time lineup from NBC and Fox (including 30 Rock and The Simpsons), YouTube has only one major network prime-time TV show, CBS' Harper's Island. The rest of the 1,000-plus shows are golden nuggets such as Beverly Hillbillies, Charlie's Angels, Bewitched and The Addams Family.
YouTube is the Web's dominant video site, but advertisers have been reluctant to spend big bucks there because so much of the fare is homemade video clips and instructional videos.
Madison Avenue prefers sites like Hulu, which have "premium" fare and a more targeted audience, says Phil Leigh, an analyst at Inside Digital Media.
"This is a significant step forward for YouTube, but also a consolation prize," he says. "The studios are more comfortable elsewhere and won't give YouTube their best content."
Still, he notes that YouTube's audience of nearly 90 million users is "equal to all the cable TV and satellite" subscribers in the United States and more than 10 times the size of Hulu's audience.
"If only one-tenth of the users care about Bewitched or The Addams Family and watch, advertisers will be very happy," he says.
In March, according to market tracker Nielsen Online, Hulu had 8.8 million users in the U.S., and showed 348 million videos, compared with 89.4 million visitors and 5.7 billion videos shown at YouTube.
Before Thursday, YouTube's vast offerings consisted of mostly short clips except for three older TV shows, the original Star Trek,MacGyver and Beverly Hills, 90210.
Beyond the new shows, YouTube also is introducing traditional advertising methods for sponsors, via what it calls Google TV. Standard ads will appear at the beginning and middle of the show.
What's different is that the ads work on the same auction model Google uses for search ads: Marketers bid on advertising in specific shows and pay a rate based on market interest.Google-owned YouTube, bowing to the success of rival online video site Hulu, is... more
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