[Red]

Originally posted by TechCrunch

If you love watching TV shows on Hulu but don’t have a cable subscription, things could get a bit more complicated in the near future. According to the New York Post, Hulu could soon start requiring its users to prove that they also have a cable or satellite subscription. This would obviously turn Hulu’s current business model on its head. It’s not clear how many of the service’s 31 million users currently don’t subscribe to cable TV, but chances are that the service’s audience would shrink after this move.

Keep in mind, this is just a rumor for now, but it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on. It’s also not clear if this subscription requirement – assuming it is actually going to happen – will just apply to Hulu’s free service, or if it will also apply to Hulu Plus subscribers. Hulu Plus, which costs $7.99 per month, currently has somewhere between 1.5 and 2 million paying subscribers.

Update: We just talked to a source close to Hulu. According to our source, Hulu and its content providers have talked about this move toward authentication since 2009. Our source noted that Hulu has no interest in being a first mover here and that a requirement for authentication is likely still a few years out. Hulu, however, does want to be a good partner and may have to give in to its partners’ pressure soon or later. Even though an authentication requirement isn’t likely to happen right away, though, our source notes that what could happen relatively soon is that the content providers could require longer delays before their shows become available on the service for non-subscribers. Cable subscribers, under this model, would get access to a show on Hulu the next day, while non-subscribers would have to wait at least 30 days. This model would likely also apply to Hulu Plus subscribers.

As our own Alexia Tsotsis noted last year when the FCC gave the go-ahead for the Comcast-NBC merger, it issued a number of specific rules to ensure that this merger wouldn’t influence Hulu’s operations. These rules, however, did not specifically touch upon any future provisions that would tie access to Hulu to a cable subscription.

NBCUniversal, News Corporation, The Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners currently share ownership of Hulu. There have been persistent rumors that Providence Equity Partners is looking to sell its stake in the company to the rest of the owners, though. The New York Post’s Claire Atkinson argues that this move toward an authentication model is one of the main reasons why Providence Equity Partners is trying to sell its stake in the company.

We asked Hulu for a comment about these rumors and will update the story once/if we hear more.

One group that has already commented on these rumors is Public Knowledge, a group that works to “preserve the openness of the Internet” and promotes “creativity through balanced copyright.” In a statement, the group’s president and CEO Gigi B. Sohn writes that “restricting access to legal content will only drive consumers to find illegal content. In particular, we are concerned about restricting access to TV programming available over free over-the-air broadcasting. It should be available online, regardless whether anyone subscribes to cable or satellite TV. By putting more restrictions on consumer access to popular content, the entertainment industry only removes any justification for stronger ‘anti-piracy’ laws it is perpetually seeking from Congress.”

Source

So, um, yeah, this move would make Netflix's series of gaffes look pedestrian in comparison. Whereas Netflix's moves primarily put a dent in their public image and not as much in their bottom line, making it a requirement that a Hulu user must have a cable or satellite subscription would actually kill Hulu. Why would anyone use Hulu (and especially Hulu Plus) with this change when they could just download the shows illegally or watch them on the network websites for free instead?

I kind of understand that they may not have a choice, but...geez, they'd be better off just killing Hulu than lose millions upon millions of visitors who use it primarily because they do not have cable or satellite.

[KittyCat]

hulu sis..

[primo.]

Isn't the main selling point of Hulu that you can't watch your favorite television shows for a much free?

Why would I be on Hulu if I have cable?

[Mellark]

Great, so where I will watch episodes FOL & FOL: Charm School & I Love New York and Glee?
Also, I agree with you what you said by your post, it will ruin Hulu's company and it will go shipwrecked.
If it happens.

[Attitude]

Originally posted by Pierre

Isn't the main selling point of Hulu that you can't watch your favorite television shows for free?

Why would I be on Hulu if I have cable?

Right?

[primo.]

Cable subscribers, under this model, would get access to a show on Hulu the next day, while non-subscribers would have to wait at least 30 days.

This is why *******s >>>>

[Changes]

Good luck with that Hulu.

[Siya]

Its not like I use them, anyway

[Red]

Originally posted by Pierre

This is why *******s >>>>

That is straight out of the movie studio playbook. More and more studios have imposed a 28-day wait on Netflix and Redbox on movie rentals, meaning that Netflix/Redbox would have to wait 28 days after a movie is released before being able to offer the movie for rent.

I wish that these studios would realize that all they are doing is making it MORE likely that people will illegally download movies (and now TV shows, in the case of the networks), not less.

[Kang.]

Hulu used to be such a great website for watching TV shows... now it's just ****. A Netflix subscription is SO worth it; much better than Hulu.

[ethan]

Does anyone have Hulu Plus? I keep wondering if Hulu Plus subscribers don't have commercials...

I'm not too worried about this change as I have cable, it's just easier to watch my shows on Hulu on my time. Not sure if it's a smart move for them though, they're gonna lose viewers like crazy.

[primo.]

Originally posted by Childish Redbino

That is straight out of the movie studio playbook. More and more studios have imposed a 28-day wait on Netflix and Redbox on movie rentals, meaning that Netflix/Redbox would have to wait 28 days after a movie is released before being able to offer the movie for rent.

I wish that these studios would realize that all they are doing is making it MORE likely that people will illegally download movies (and now TV shows, in the case of the networks), not less.

There's only a few shows I religiously watch and these new rules being implemented, illegal downloading is starting to become a last resort for me.

[adanmonster]

That's so stupid

That would be like Spotify Premium making you prove that you have a CD before you're allowed to stream it

[castrobabytiger]

Originally posted by Mellark

Great, so where I will watch episodes FOL & FOL: Charm School & I Love New York?
Also, I agree with you what you said by your post, it will ruin Hulu's company and it will go shipwrecked.
If it happens.

right!!!!
Doing too much

[Red]

Originally posted by ethan

Does anyone have Hulu Plus? I keep wondering if Hulu Plus subscribers don't have commercials...

I'm not too worried about this change as I have cable, it's just easier to watch my shows on Hulu on my time. Not sure if it's a smart move for them though, they're gonna lose viewers like crazy.

There are commercials on Hulu Plus. Honestly, the only reason I even have it is because I can catch up on full seasons of shows that are not available on Netflix. Once I finally get done with that, I'll probably get rid of Hulu Plus.

[andresg770]

What the...??? I mean, I guess I could use my dad's DirecTV username and info like I did to watch episodes of The Closer the day after they premiered, but seriously???? Hulu's biggest audience has to be people who don't have cable, right???

[Ghandi]

Hulu trying to go bankrupt in the least steps possible...

[Katie]

Originally posted by Ghandi

Hulu trying to go bankrupt in the least steps possible...

Basically.