Hello Hulu! But Not in Canada...

Just about a year ago, I reported on our sister Website http://www.marketnews.ca/ that Fox and NBC had plans to launch their own online video Website where visitors could watch episodes from TV shows aired on those (and other) networks, as well as movies and clips. Well, the site, which has been available to testers since October 2007, is now open to the public. It's name? Hulu!

The decision was in clear response to the popularity of YouTube.com, which was (and in fact still is) where many TV and movie clips end up. YouTube members often record the content from their TVs, then upload it to YouTube for others to view. This includes everything from funny Saturday Night Live sketches (when available), to Jay Leno's Tonight Show monologue, or even a single scene from a primetime TV show. Naturally, this fueled anger and, in some cases, lawsuits, against YouTube, claiming that it was infringing on copyrights by allowing such videos to be posted. If you're a frequent YouTube surfer, you've likely come across a "this video is no longer available" message at some point in time, which is a clear sign that someone waved a red flag.

Rather than file suit, surrender to YouTube (which is now owned by Google), or sit back with arms folded and lips pouting, Fox and NBC has taken the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude, and conjured up the idea for Hulu.com. At launch, the Associated Press claims that more than 250 full-length TV shows are available, ranging from The Simpsons to The Office; as well as 100 or so movies, like Ice Age. In all, programming will be available from over 50 different networks, movie studios, and independent Web-based content makers.

Following the YouTube mentality, the site will also feature humorous clips from movies like Napolean Dynamite and short skits from Saturday Night Live. As for revenue generation, Hulu.com will be supported by ads, and The Associated Press reports that, in some cases, viewers will be "given a choice of advertisements to watch."

I've gone on and on via this blog about how music, movie, and TV producers need to stop, smell the roses, and understand the changing face of content distribution. With this site, Fox and NBC have done just that. If I have to watch a 10-second commercial to see a video clip, so what. I'll suck it up and do it for the sake of supporting content makers. What I don't approve of is companies who throw out lawsuits and force the removal of their content without trying to figure out a way to tailor their own offerings to suit what their customers so obviously want. If you're not going to do it yourself, rest assured that somebody else will beat you to the punch line!

With that said, I excitedly clicked into http://www.hulu.com/ to check it out, and selected a Saturday Night Live clip. What did I get? A plain, black screen that contained the following somber message: "Unfortunately this video is not currently available in your country or region. We apologize for the inconvenience." Oh brother. Here we go again. So while these two big networks are offering up content online, and loyal Canadians like me are willing to support them, we're stuck in our little Canadian rut, unable to enjoy it. I guess I'll just continue to visit YouTube: supposedly that's helping to promote Canadian content regulations. And apparently so is preventing access to online content from U.S. networks. (Note my sarcasm).

I can't blame Fox and NBC for this, however, so kudos to them for making the move. It's the first major step I've seen from a movie studio to fully understand the changing face of the entertainment industry.

U.S. readers, you can access the Hulu service by simply punching in http://www.hulu.com/ into your Web browser. It's also available via AOL, Yahoo Inc., and other web portals. Canadians can visit the site as well; but visitor-beware: it'll be nothing but a tease.

NBC Universal Says No to iTunes

NBC Universal is not renewing its contract with iTunes. According to Reuters, the studio is iTunes' number-one supplier of digital videos, including popular TV shows like Heroes, 30 Rock, and The Office.

NBC reportedly wants Apple to pay an inflated fee for the content, which would result in an increase in the price customers pay for downloads (supposedly US$4.99 per episode instead of US$1.99). Apple says sorry, that won't fly.

Of course none of this matters to us Canucks north of the border who can’t even get downloadable TV content through the Canadian iTunes service. Not that I'm bitter, but I'll digress, since this is a whole other topic unto itself!

Nevertheless, this decision could lead to some very interesting possible outcomes. The first, I propose, is that downloadable online video continues to appeal only to techno-geek, early adopters, and eventually dwindles away. Downloadable video is still in a growth phase. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the most popular media download site (i.e. iTunes) starts offering fewer quality videos instead of more, aren’t we moving in the wrong direction of where we want to be?

The second possible outcome is this: imagine NBC decides to launch its own site to rival iTunes (but just offers its own content); or partners with a competing online store that accomodates the price NBC wants. Would you pay $1.99 for stuff you don't want; or $4.99 for stuff you do? NBC announced in March that it would launch an ad-supported online video distribution site in partnership with Fox that would be available through partners like AOL and MySpace. You never know: I could be way off base, but an online video download store may not be too far off the horizon!

Sure, Apple’s domination in the portable player and online download arena is really being put to the test as of late, but we can't forget the third possible scenario: NBC feels the pain of missing the exposure of its 2007-08 season through iTunes (Apple reportedly said it would pull the plug before the new season rather than wait until the end of the year); and Apple laughs all the way to the bank.

Which way will things go? We'll just have to wait and see.

i-Jacking Runs Rampant, Warrants TV Special

I never realized until last night that the act of stealing an iPod actually has its own term: i-Jacking. I was introduced to this term via a one-hour Dateline NBC special on the very topic. The hidden camera show’s mandate was to present the possibility that Apple could track the location of stolen iPods that are registered online. How? Through a database of serial numbers and personal information that is collected when the customer registers the device with iTunes. Interesting…I was hooked.

Dateline put this theory to the test: it purchased a whack of iPods, made a duplicate CD that would send registration information to its own “mock” database in addition to Apple’s, then “accidentally" left the already registered iPods in various places (park benches, shopping mall food courts, on top of cars, etc.) to be picked up by unsuspecting thieves. Then, they waited for someone to pick up the iPods and eventually register them online. Once a recognized serial number was found, Dateline staff headed to the supplied address to confront the person.

In many cases, it was some 17-year old punk who simply didn’t know any better (and who Dateline had caught on hidden camera swiping the players!) But in other cases, the iPod had fallen into the hands of innocent gift-recipients who had no idea it had been stolen.

Dateline felt that, if the existence of a way to track stolen iPods could be proven, people might just stop viewing them as an easy target for thievery. Of course, would this work just as well in real-world scenarios, and would Apple take it upon themselves to manage such a database for the purpose of tracking thieves?

In the end, although Apple neglected to comment on the story, Dateline did note that Apple has filed a patent for a modification to the iPod and iPhone that would prevent them from being recharged unless the user can prove the device is his. This will hopefully be the first step in deterring iPod theft.

What I find even more interesting than the fact that iPods have become such a desirable target for thieves is the fact that this nifty little device warranted a one-hour TV special based solely on how big a problem “i-Jacking” is.

Click here for a complete transcript of the TV special.