Sunday Rant: Hulu Plus

Now that we lost the Super Bowl (and no, I won't talk about that...this is the last time it will be mentioned), I feel like ranting about something. After a recent discussion with my friend (who luckily feels exactly the way I do), I've settled on a topic that I could complain about endlessly: Hulu Plus.

I'm annoyed at Hulu Plus. And not for the usual reasons. Sure, everyone agrees that having to pay to watch certain TV shows is annoying. And being forced to endure a minute and a half of the same commercials over and over again, after having paid to watch said TV shows, is particularly annoying.

You know what's even worse? Having a Hulu Plus account and being told that certain content is only available "on the web". For goodness sake, we already paid, didn't we? We're enduring the financial burden, and your annoying commercials, and you're telling us that we can't stream all of your content to our televisions? Also, how is my Roku player not "on the web"...it's connected to my wireless internet. So is my computer. How is this any different?

Sometimes, a girl just wants to sit down on a Friday night with a couple of friends and watch '30 Rock'. But no. Evidently that content is only available "on the web", so streaming it onto my TV is impossible. I'm sorry, but for $7.99 a month I'm not willing to huddle around a laptop.

P.S. Yes, I know this has to do with licensing agreements. Sure, Hulu.com originally signed agreements to only stream on computers, and when they branched out to Hulu Plus they had to get new licensing to stream on all devices. I get it. But it's been 585 days since they first rolled out Hulu Plus. Also, why are all other NBC shows available except '30 Rock'?

P.P.S. I realize that some parts of this rant are nonsensical, it wouldn't be a good rant if they weren't.

All right, Will Arnett, I guess I won't hold it against you.
(But only because you were in 'Arrested Development').

FOX shows on Hulu: Questionable Marketing

Hulu is many things: a way to watch free shows, an introduction to plot-points you may have missed during your busy week, and a marketing tool for TV networks and cable companies.

Hulu allows viewers to experience television's newest shows even if they missed them the first time. It's a way to suck in new viewers, or maintain current viewers, by allowing them to catch-up. It's also a way to reduce illegal downloads of shows, while still retaining some financial advantage (after all, we all know Hulu advertises).

Several of the networks are using Hulu in the best way possible: they are releasing shows within 24-hours of their air date. This allows those of us with work, with children, with busy lives, to catch-up when we miss an episode. Many of us would like to watch our favorite shows live but we can't, and Hulu is a legal alternative. Releasing a new episode within 24 (or even 48) hours gives viewers an opportunity to find time in their lives to watch the episode they missed before it is time for the next new episode to air. This increases the likelihood that they will watch the next episode live. Which is, presumably, the ultimate goal of the networks: to have the maximum number of viewers.

FOX is currently making a big mistake. While their new episodes do appear on Hulu almost immediately after airing, they are only available to Hulu Plus members (those people who pay a fee to access Hulu content). These episodes do eventually appear for free, but not until after the next new episode has aired. For many of FOX's shows this is doing more harm than good.

For instance, last week I missed an episode of 'House', a show that I often choose to watch live. I knew that 'House' aired on Mondays on FOX, so I went on Hulu Sunday night to catch-up. Because 'House' is largely plot-driven, missing an episode can be confusing. The previous week's episode of 'House' was still only available to Hulu Plus members--a full six days after airing. Guess when it did become free and available? This morning. After the newest episode of 'House' had aired. Guess who didn't watch 'House' live last night?

Sure I could continue to watch things a week behind, and as a viewer I wouldn't be too upset. But as a network FOX should be. I could easily become one less viewer who's watching their TV show live. And of course there's the separate issue: if content isn't available for free on Hulu there are plenty of other sites where a viewer can easily watch a show they missed. Everyone knows that. And using those sites is definitely not financially beneficial to the networks.

I just double-checked to make sure this wasn't a flux. It isn't. New Girl aired last Tuesday and it still isn't available for free on Hulu Plus. There's a new episode premiering tonight.