Disney-Hulu Deal Is Ominous For YouTube

Hugh Pickens writes "Dow Jones reports that Hulu scored a big victory when Disney agreed to take a nearly 30% stake in Hulu and put full episodes of its ABC TV shows on the site, enabling users to see shows like Lost, Scrubs, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives for free. Disney views the move as a way to reach a new audience that isn't coming to the network's own website. Although the ABC.com website has attracted regular viewers of its shows, Hulu offers the opportunity to tap into a new group of viewers. Now Google is under mounting pressure to add more professional content to YouTube in order to attract more advertisers. According to Dow Jones' Scott Morrisson, the equity structure of the Disney-Hulu deal suggests that content creators want greater involvement in online distribution than Google has offered with YouTube. 'Content providers don't want to give (YouTube) content because the advertisers aren't there yet,' said Edward Jones analyst Andy Miedler."

Comments

One Simple Solution

[drinkypoo]

Give the IP holders the right to run their own commercials, and some API to make it possible for them to change commercials out easily without a full reupload. Commercial lengths will manage themselves. In order to get this particular interface you need to share the cost of the downloads, which the system will broker. (e.g. the actual cost, not any cost to the user, since there is none.)

However, I don't see it as that big an issue, either; Google is here to stay, so is YouTube, and if it became THE site for non-commercial content, I for one would still use it. I suspect others would, also.

Re:One Simple Solution

[nine-times]

However, I don't see it as that big an issue, either; Google is here to stay, so is YouTube, and if it became THE site for non-commercial content, I for one would still use it. I suspect others would, also.

The problem is making money. Yes, Youtube is popular, but is it profitable yet? I don't know. Advertisers won't pay much on ad space until they can place their ads on premium content, and they won't be able to get premium content until they can show that advertisers are willing to pay a premium. It's a catch 22.

So content owners are saying they won't license their content for the Internet because the ad revenue isn't there. The advertisers are saying they won't pay much because the viewers aren't there. The viewers won't watch because content owners are busy pushing their products on broadcast channels while withholding them from the Internet. And around we go.

If things are going to change, someone has to make the leap, and it won't be the advertisers. It might be the content owners, but I'd bet on the viewers. Not so much a leap, but a gradual falling off-- people canceling their cable because they get enough shows on Hulu or iTunes to keep them content, and maybe they supplement those sources with some illegal stuff. So then advertisers and content owners will have to go online to get those viewers.

Re:One Simple Solution

[nine-times]

Of course, you're right there. Somewhere along the line, though, someone will have to make it profitable.

Available outside U.S. ?

[javacowboy]

Wake me up when Hulu is available outside the U.S.

Re:Available outside U.S. ?

[robzon]

Exactly! It really pisses me off that I'm locked out just because I don't live in the states anymore. No wonder torrent sites flourish.

Re:Available outside U.S. ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah yeah yeah - and maybe someday the BBC will allow streaming of Dr Who for US users too...

Re:Available outside U.S. ?

[tony1343]

That sucks. But can't non-Americans just route through a proxy or something?

I'd probably also blame this on your networks, since they syndicate many of these shows. It would probably violate the contracts to allow non-Americans to view the shows before your local neetwork has shown the program. The question is why is there often such a delay before the foreign network airs the show? If there isn't a delay than this is really stupid.

But really I often just don't understand Hollywood. They bitch that China is pirating all their movies. Yet you can't legally buy them in China. So how can it possibly be costing them money? Plus half the time, the movies wouldn't be allowed in China because of censorship.

But, but, but....

[SIR_Taco]

Now Google is under mounting pressure to add more professional content to YouTube...

But it's YOU-Tube, not THEM-Tube

Professional Content

[Anonymous Coward]

If I wanted to see "professional" content I'd get a fuckin' TV.

Re:Professional Content

[PopeRatzo]

I'm surprised that this AC's most insightful comment has not already been modded all the way up.

From the summary:

Now Google is under mounting pressure to add more professional content to YouTube in order to attract more advertisers.

Why is that? Pardon me, but I go to youtube for everything from crazy mashups and ukulele instruction videos, vids of my friends in Alaska demonstrating their proficiency with the Chinese broadsword and other friends in Baltimore displaying their latest performance in the Brooklyn Battlefest. A guy playing the Super Mario theme on the balalaika. Some 8 year old kid in Japan shredding the hell out of a Jeff Beck tune.

Are you telling me that Disney will having videos like this?

Why is Google supposed to change its business model because Disney has a different business model?

"On-Demand" for FREE

[I'm not really here]

I care - here's why:

On-demand from Comcast has commercials.
"On-demand" from Hulu has less commercials.
On-demand with Comcast costs me money.
"On-demand" from Hulu costs me nothing.
On-demand with Comcast has practically everything, but it costs money to watch.
"On-demand" from Hulu has practically everything but is free to watch.

I care, because finally I will be able to just pay for a connection to the internet.

Re:Google Ads

[jo42]

Not enough ad revenue to offset the bandwidth charges?

Ding! Ding! Ding! You've won the jackpot. Google subsides IdiotTube from other sources of ad revenue. Google's business model is 99% based on ad revenue. Once that dries up, they're fraked.

Re:You're Just Too Cool

[foniksonik]

Heh, it happens. You'll see, it's not cynicism at all... it's biological. The interests you are imprinted with in your youth stay with you for the rest of your life. Sure you will notice new things and check them out but when you want to feel youthful again - strangely enough you'll go listen to the band you listened to in high school. That's how memory imprinting works.