Television in the New World

Hulu, purveyor of online television, has been reconsidering its business model. So far, it has offered up content free, and obtained its revenue from advertising. A time honoured business model and a popular one on the Web.

The world keeps changing, however, and there are signs that this business model will need to change. The concept of online TV and movies and other videos has been catching on lately. Many people like to watch TV and videos on their computers, and more are now watching them on their smart phones and "Blackberry's. With the high resoluton possible on premium mobile devices, TV and movies become very watchable.

The problem for the advertising model when people want to watch on their handhelds is, of course, airtime and data cost. Nobody wants to spend money to watch commercials. So Hulu is considering going to a subscription model.

A subscription model would work well, provided it is carefully thought out. Hulu will have several options, They can run a subscription model along with an advertising model, and let customers decide which they want to use. Those with Blackberry's will be able to watch TV and movies without enduring ads, while students with limited funds will be able to choose the advertising option. Hulu could also offer those who pay for the subscription route some premium content to make their investment worthwhile. There's more in this article.