Things are getting a little more lovey-dovey in TV land. In a recent speech to the NewTeeVee conference, Lost Remote reports that CBS Interactive President Quincy Smith said he “loves” the online TV streaming service “Hulu.”
Hulu opened to generally positive reviews in October as a service that shows full episodes of TV shows.
But here’s the kicker: Hulu is a joint venture of NBC and NewsCorp, which owns the FOX network.
“People constantly ask us at CBS Interactive about Hulu,” Smith said. “Off the record? We love Hulu, and we talk a lot with Hulu. Our objective isn’t to slam them. If we can’t work together in contract then we can work together in philosophy.”
So why is this love coming from CBS, a Big Three competitor? It’s hard to know for sure. Perhaps CBS wants to get in line to join the Hulu crowd. Or maybe they’re working on a similar service.
Whatever the reason, CNET blogger Greg Sandoval seems to think Hulu may be the first big step toward the network dinosaurs getting a more firm plant in the realm of online content.
Hulu, he says, “…nails the basics. The images are clear, free of any of the aggravations that sometimes plague streaming video, such as stalled pictures or pixilated images….[Watching Hulu] is a far superior viewing experience than watching grainy, five-minute clips at YouTube or other video-sharing sites.”
Even if Hulu isn’t yet a “YouTube Killer”, the positive response to its debut raises some interesting ideas about what the future of television can and will be online and how its fans will consume it.
And who knows, maybe CBS’s flirt with Hulu will break down the collaborative walls between the networks. Who’s ready to see the cast of Heroes on Survivor?
(Story inspired by a post on LostRemote.com)
1 comment:
Hulu seems like a great idea. Did you know that at FOX on demand I seem to have no problems watching my favorite shows online. They do come on like two or three days after the actual showing time though. My only problem with some of the links is that the sites don't really get to the idea of Hulu exactly is until you get to the guy that blogs about how Hulu is great. Still, I will look out for Hulu in the future and I may catch up on Chuck.
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