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Future of TV now in hands of even fewer people |
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Written by Jeff Dubbin
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Thursday, 07 May 2009 |
Of the four major broadcasting networks, three now own a stake in Hulu, the rapidly growing video streaming Web site. ABC (owned by Disney) announced Thursday that it is purchasing a 28 percent stake in the Fox (NewsCorp) and NBC Universal (General Electric) joint venture, according to the New York Times. ABC will be giving Hulu an exclusive license to air its shows on the Internet, such as "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," as well as a perfunctory $25 million credit towards advertising on ABC broadcasts.
By some measures, Hulu is the second-most watched video streaming site, after YouTube. Whereas YouTube promulgates user-generated clips, Hulu offers copyrighted content that consumers would otherwise only encounter on their televisions. And now, Hulu has the right to offer even more.
Disney CEO Robert Iger claims that this move will not divert revenue away from ABC’s existing business, the Wall Street Journal reports. The idea is to take advantage of Hulu’s rising popularity and expand the audience for ABC and its cable channel affiliates (such as ESPN and The Disney Channel).
We used to just have to flip on the TV to see shows. Now, with the ability to fast-forward through commercials or download content off P2P sites, consumers are not behaving the way networks prefer. ABC’s move to further conglomerate Hulu reveals how networks are hoping to re-regulate consumer behavior. If they can make Hulu the new TV, consumers become predictable again, and networks stop hemorrhaging money to the Internet.
But no one seems to have told them the Internet and “predictable” just do not go together.
[NY Times, WSJ]
Jeff Dubbin is a TheSequitur.com senior editor.
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