Hello Hulu: Free Online TV & Movies
In the world of online video Hulu is the new kid on the internet block. The name Hulu is funky ’cause I keep wanting to say Hula, like the Hawaiian dance. Maybe the domain was taken, but considering this new website that allows visitors to watch full length movies and TV shows is backed by the mucho money of NBC Universal and News Corp., they could have probably bought it at auction.
Anyway, in spite of that, Hulu is pretty cool. This week the site finished a year of beta testing and launched full on. I just finished registering for and surfing through the site and I was impressed. And that’s not just because you can watch episodes of my favorite show “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” there.
Other TV shows available are classic “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” from the fifties to “Arrested Development” from just a couple of years ago. There are episodes of “Bones,” “House,” and “Chuck.” You can watch comedy sketches from “Saturday Night Live,” like the very funny one from last week parodying the famous Hillary Clinton “3AM Phone Call” ad.
They’ve even got NBA basketball, and fashion clips from the Ford Model Agency like “Off The Rack With Jackie.”
The selection of movies runs the gamut from “The Usual Suspects,” to “The Forty Year Old Virgin” to “The Full Monty.”
You can browse movies and TV shows by title, by genre or by movie studio or network. How do they provide all this stuff for free? Why, by commercials of course. But the quality of the clips is great and the site has a slick, clean look that is easy to navigate.
Jason Kilar, Hulu’s chief executive was quoted in a NY Times article:
“We won’t stop until we have everything in terms of premium content. That is our mission,” he said. “I just think back to the fact that 24 months ago, there wasn’t anything online legally in terms of full TV episodes or films. In just 17 weeks, we have gone from nothing to over 200 premium titles.”
It’s no coincidence two TV/movie companies are involved in this little venture, because the networks are beginning to see the writing on the wall about how traditional TV viewers are watching a heck of a lot more videos online, not to mention all the free streaming of shows on network websites.
Take my word for it, this site’s gonna be a huge hit. It’s the future and it’s here.