Hulu is coming to Canada! Ok, not really, but there is a step towards offering online TV called RODO — Rogers On-Demand Online.
The site will launch November 30th with approximately 1,500 videos and 15 content providers, but I've had a chance to poke around it a bit. The content is limited for now but they plan to add one new content partner every week for the next 12 months. The videos stream with ease and have an ad at the beginning of the show or inserted in it — which is a relatively minor thing.
The drawbacks? It is only for Rogers customers, only in Canada, and there is no option to embed shows on blogs or other sites. Hopefully that will come in time.
I've never seen Hulu, being geo-blocked, but I had hoped Rogers announcement was going to be a partnership with Hulu. No luck, but this is at least a move towards the cable companies and broadcasters loosening the reins on content and letting consumers have some choice. I'm willing to give it a shot.
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Tech Bites Man
Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?
I love Hulu. I haven't watched TV through a TV set regularly in years. We have one, but only to play videos for our toddler. Otherwise, I watch TV online. And generally, I watch and entire series at a time (right now it's Stargate). But until Hulu came around, it was only bootlegs on Chinese and Russian websites (and occasionally YouTube).
ReplyDeleteI realize that this utter disrespect for copyright might not speak well for my character. But Hulu shows that Big Media is starting to understand how people watch video content.
Hulu provides high-def video with occasional, short commercials. I don't mind those at all. So I'll gladly watch TV on Hulu and similar outlets instead of bootlegs.
One of the great things about Hulu is that you get to watch what you want to watch when you want to watch it. And it's given new life to shows that have been off TV for decades. The classic cartoon Exosquad is a good example. It could never have made it to broadcast or cable TV again because it wouldn't draw enough viewers to justify the expense. But until the entire series was uploaded onto Hulu, Universal Studios wasn't making a penny off of it. Now that it's on Hulu, it's generating money again.
I think that the Hulu model is the future of television because it allows viewers to watch that they want and producers to make money off of it.
I really was hoping that this announcement was about Hulu coming to Canada, and I still hold put hope.
ReplyDeletePolitical borders for content are ridiculous and these companies should have learned from the example of music companies. If you don't give customers what they want they will find a way to get it anyway and it will only be you that loses money. People are willing to pay (or watch ads), so why not help them?
If you don't give customers what they want they will find a way to get it anyway and it will only be you that loses money. People are willing to pay (or watch ads), so why not help them?
ReplyDeleteThere's a certain personality type that prefers control, even at the expense of profit.