[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Hulu May Force Users to Prove They Have TV Subscription, Says Report here

[nearvanaman]

Last week I was halfway through watching a series when it shifted to "web only" mode without warning. Ridiculous. Their mobile reach is poor - I had to use a dev mod to use it on my Galaxy Note. And I'm forced to watch ads in spite of paying a sub. I'm sure it's content providers flexing their muscles but it's short-sighted because they will lose business.

[LordInsidious]

It's like Hulu wants more people to torrent/join sharing communities.

[northca707]

I watch Hulu AND I have a cable connection but I will discontinue Hulu if they want proof of cable. Why? They are acting like a damn spy agency, asking for information that is totally irrelevant to watching shows. I'm sick of damn corporations prying every piece of information about you that they can. My feeling is you spy, you die. Hulu will become a mere footnote unless others do not value their privacy.

[JoeBloe123]

I have been a cable subscriber for decades and watch Hulu occasionally on my computer.

I have no intention of telling Hulu or anyone else what business arrangement I have with another company. I can see absolutely nothing positive from telling Hulu what services I use.

Sorry Hulu I am not buying into this. You are over reaching. Get ready for your add revenue to plummet.

[nonseq]

JoeBloe123, on 01 May 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

I have been a cable subscriber for decades and watch Hulu occasionally on my computer.

I have no intention of telling Hulu or anyone else what business arrangement I have with another company. I can see absolutely nothing positive from telling Hulu what services I use.

Sorry Hulu I am not buying into this. You are over reaching. Get ready for your add revenue to plummet.

I suspect that Hulu is trying to cover its behind with the cable companies. For example, up until last year you could stream TNT programs with no problem. Now, or at least last time I tried, to get TNT programming you have to prove that you are a cable subscriber. This has become a much greater issue as DSL through the baby bells has stepped up its game.

[commo94]

As a Hulu Plus subscriber who has already cut the cord, seeing a little about this story yesterday made me reevaluate Hulu's value to me. I have a hard time justifying $8/mo just to watch a couple shows. Maybe when the new fall shows are on, but not right now. Sorry Hulu, I had to cut you off too.

[MelanieGrovesVonFange]

I am a Hulu Plus subscriber and I have been around since Hulu when it was still in Beta and there was NOTHING on it. I will not stay with Hulu if this happens. The Cable companies do not understand that if you take away a service that consumers want, then they will use other means to get it. Many people willingly pay for Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime for this reason. They don't want 500 channels that you can only watch shows when the companies deem fit. This is a very bad idea, and as you can tell by the poll, will shoot Hulu AND the cable companies in the foot.

[TonyDelap]

nearvanaman, on 01 May 2012 - 09:56 AM, said:

Last week I was halfway through watching a series when it shifted to "web only" mode without warning. Ridiculous. Their mobile reach is poor - I had to use a dev mod to use it on my Galaxy Note. And I'm forced to watch ads in spite of paying a sub. I'm sure it's content providers flexing their muscles but it's short-sighted because they will lose business.

This post has been edited by TonyDelap: 01 May 2012 - 11:15 PM

[JTMacc99]

MelanieGrovesVonFange, on 01 May 2012 - 01:35 PM, said:

I am a Hulu Plus subscriber and I have been around since Hulu when it was still in Beta and there was NOTHING on it. I will not stay with Hulu if this happens. The Cable companies do not understand that if you take away a service that consumers want, then they will use other means to get it. Many people willingly pay for Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime for this reason. They don't want 500 channels that you can only watch shows when the companies deem fit. This is a very bad idea, and as you can tell by the poll, will shoot Hulu AND the cable companies in the foot.

The content providers (aka: the companies behind HULU) don't give a rat's bottom about the cable and satellite companies other than to keep them alive as their collection agencies.

If history is any indication, here is how this is going to go down:

Hulu requires authentication of pay TV services.
Hulu uses a middle-man between all of the service providers (Satellite, Cable, etc.) to take their lists of subscribers and make Hulu available to those people.
People get used to it, and eventually value the product.
Then the kicker, one by one, as the individual networks on Hulu negotiate their next contracts with the Satellite and Cable providers, they add in a "monthly charge to let your customers use Hulu". When a Satellite or Cable company tells them to pack sand, Hulu puts up a note on its web site that says "If you don't see your provider listed, call them! Also, consider changing services to one of the companies on the list." So if Direct TV agrees to pay the fee, pretty much every cable company then faces losing customers unless they also agree to pay the new Hulu fee.

And there you have it: The Content Providers have figured out how to charge you for internet access to their content that you would have never paid for if they just asked for your credit card on the website. Not only that, but you totally don't blame them, but instead blame the cable or satellite company who is doing not much other than making sure you can actually see the content and collecting the money for them.

[JTMacc99]

Of course, having said that, it's not like making new TV shows is cheap. You have to expect them to get paid somehow, and the idea that TV should just be free on the internet isn't going to fly.

[MischievousDemon]

If this happens I will cancel Hulu and Comcast just as a protest.

[MischievousDemon]

If this happens I will cancel Hulu and Comcast just as a protest.

[nonseq]

Quote

Public Interest Groups Hammer Comcast Over Reports of Hulu's Change in Streaming Model
Cable operator says any suggestion of violations of FCC or DOJ deal conditions is 'fiction'

By John Eggerton and George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/30/2012 4:31:20 PM


Public interest groups were quick to jump on reports that Hulu was going start requiring a cable TV subscription to access its content (the cable industry's "authentication" model for putting its programming online), though they differed over what that move meant.

Free Press said it called into question whether Comcast was living up to its NBCU deal conditions (NBC is a co-owner of Hulu), and asked for an investigation by the FCC and Justice, which approved the Comcast/NBCU deal.

By contrast, Public Knowledge apparently did not think moving the content behind a pay wall violated any of the deal conditions. In fact, it said the FCC specifically did not adopt such a condition, even though it was recommended by some.

Comcast says it has no role in Hulu management decisions, which was a condition in the deal.

"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was asked to include as a condition of Comcast's takeover of NBCU that subscription to a pay-TV service not be required for access to Hulu," said Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn. "It is a shame the Commission declined to do so."...

http://www.broadcast...aming_Model.php

[BToe]

I'm actually in a similar position as you, I just cancelled my Hulu Plus plan. I cut mine off and politely informed them that they were going to be requiring you to prove that you have cable and that I felt that this company was overestimating it's importance with it's customers. I had netflix and I also had cancelled that when they decided to change their price. It's the principle of the matter. Why should I pay for cable when I watch 3 channels. So, why should I pay for a company's service when I can go down the block and get redbox when I want to watch something. I have a ps3 that is more than capable of entertaining me whenever I want to kill time.

commo94, on 01 May 2012 - 01:26 PM, said:

As a Hulu Plus subscriber who has already cut the cord, seeing a little about this story yesterday made me reevaluate Hulu's value to me. I have a hard time justifying $8/mo just to watch a couple shows. Maybe when the new fall shows are on, but not right now. Sorry Hulu, I had to cut you off too.

This post has been edited by BToe: 02 May 2012 - 03:18 PM

[Steveu01d]

Buh-bye, Hulu. It was nice while it lasted, watching ads while paying a monthly fee. It was worth it to cut the $100/month U-verse bill but I suppose the old guard has one last gasp left - driving away customers such as me.