The future of long-form video programming on the Web will get a key test Wednesday, when one of the most anticipated new sites for video — Hulu.com — launches.
Hulu.com was created as a joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp., and includes programming from Time Warner Bros. Television Group, Lionsgate, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. It is concluding its successful, invitation-only beta period, during which a reported five million viewers visited the site in the past month.
Homer, Buffy and Earl
Launch day will include full-length episodes of more than 250 classic or recent TV series, including The Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and My Name Is Earl, as well as such movies as The Usual Suspects, Requiem for a Dream, Mulholland Drive, The Big Lebowski, and Ice Age. Free video programs are offered on Hulu from more than 50 popular cable networks, movie studios and Web-content providers. Hulu shows are also being distributed on AOL, Fancast.com, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo.
The highly visible endeavor has already received criticism from observers who say YouTube and other popular video sites already dominate Web video. Hulu.com will test porting network or movie studio long-form fare into a media environment dominated by short clips, many of them user-generated.
Mike McGuire, an analyst with industry research firm Gartner, said the key test for extending TV fare online will be getting sufficient viewership in an environment where programs and clips are also available a la carte on iTunes or at the home sites of the networks.
‘Very Impressive’
Forrester’s James McQuivey said the launch is “very impressive” because the site is delivering on its initial promises, including higher-quality video, more TV shows than any other source, and “a better advertiser experience.”
He noted that Hulu has been paying close attention to what advertisers want. For…