August 19th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | 
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There were many skeptics, myself included, when Hulu first launched in March. But since then, the online video site owned by Fox and NBC has continued to impress and gain viewers.
According to new stats from Nielsen [via paidContent], Hulu now ranks No. 8 among the Top 10 online video sites, generating more than 105 million streams to more than 3.2 million unique viewers during July.
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June 20th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | 1 Comment
There is a reason they call it the dog days of summer. It’s hot. TV is all repeats. Except for blockbuster weekends like Memorial Day and July 4, summer movie releases can be pretty bad. The kids, off school, even get bored watching YouTube.
Hulu, the increasingly popular online video venture brought to you by NBC and Fox, is fighting the dog days of summer with Hulu Days of Summer, introduced this week. From now until mid-August, Hulu will release a “premiere” program each weekday, hoping to entice viewers to drop by to see what’s new.
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May 22nd, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | 1 Comment
Having been the first out the gate among major U.S. broadcasters when it started streaming full-length episodes back in 2006, ABC is learning a thing or two from Hulu, the new video kid on the block backed by NBC and Fox.
This fall ABC.com plans a major upgrade to its video offering by adding features including “full-screen viewing, closed captioning and the ability to send video links that can be embedded on blogs and social networks”, reports Hollywood Insider. In contrast, Hulu has offered users the option to embed videos elsewhere on the Web (albeit for a limited time period) and full screen viewing from Day One. Closed captions are also available for some of Hulu’s content — although not nearly enough.
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May 20th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | No Comments
In just over two months, Hulu has moved from private beta to the No. 10 online video streaming site.
In doing so, Hulu bests all of the major networks — NBC and Fox (Hulu’s parents), ABC, and CBS. It’s an impressive feat.
At the same time, Hulu is expanding its content footprint by adding seven partners, meaning its library of current and vintage TV shows will be more widely available. Hulu videos will be distributed on entertainment and social networking sites TV.com, TVGuide.com, BuddyTV, Flixster.com, MyYearbook.com, Break.com, and Zap2it.com.
“While it is extremely early in terms of Hulu’s history of serving users, we’re quite excited to see such positive trends in Hulu’s growth and viewership,” Jason Kilar, Hulu’s chief executive officer, told Reuters.
In April, people watched 63.2 million videos on Hulu and its partners’ sites and spent on average 129.3 minutes per month, beating nearest rival ABC.com (60.8 million videos, an average of 57.3 minutes).
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May 5th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | 1 Comment
Just out of curiosity, when was the last time you wanted to get together with friends to watch such movies as “Convoy,” “Captain Kid,” “Day of the Triffids,” “Ultrachrist!” or “Monster from a Prehistoric Planet?”
Lycos, the Web portal from the Palaeozoic Era of the Internet, has given movie lovers the chance to simultaneously watch films like these since the launch of Lycos Cinema more than a year ago.
Today Lycos relaunched the Cinema product with added features: You can now purchase video-on-demand streams for you and your buddies to watch simultaneously on different computers, and interact socially through an improved user interface.
Lycos accomplishes simultaneous viewing through its patented “SimulStream” technology, which brings friends together to view film or other video content in public or in private screening rooms. People can talk real-time about the movie they are watching together.
A redesigned user interface highlights’ friends’ media preferences with personal calendars (for movie scheduling), watch lists, and recently purchased movies, in addition to an improved chat client to talk while viewing the film.
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