It’s hard for things to grow when they’re being artificially constrained; think about bound feet if you need a rather gross example. So, if some new reports lead to any significant developments, Hulu may be making some smart decisions and heading in new directions.
Consider the matter of potential audience size first. Right now, Hulu’s only (supposed to be) accessible to people in the US. That’s not very friendly of it, and makes it tough (or perhaps impossible) for the site to catch YouTube in terms of unique visitors. The policy must close a lot of advertising doors, too.
But Jason Kilar, Hulu’s CEO, told Diane Mermigas, “The concept of Hulu is predicated on being a global business. Our mission statement describes us helping people to find and enjoy the world’s premium content wherever and however they want. That will be predicated on finding the right partners and having a business model that enables us to create value for advertisers, content partners and our shareholders.”
Although Kilar didn’t go on to give any sort of date, those are some encouraging words, anyway. And the second story gives a reason as to why many, many more people might want to use Hulu.
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson reports, “[M]ajor record labels are hoping to revive the music video business online by creating a single digital destination for their artists’ output. . . . Representatives of two music companies, who would not be named, said they were in discussions with Hulu, adding that no partnership announcement was imminent but that the site appeared to be the favoured partner.”
