Hulu Hands-On Review in One Word: Brilliant
This morning, between fielding phone calls, answering emails and writing blog posts, I have been watching TV, a lot of TV...on Hulu, the new online video portal backed by NBC (GE), News Corp. (NWS) and $100 million in funding from Providence Equity Partners.
Context & Ripple Effects
Hulu's private beta has landed amid a split verdict: Silicon Alley Insider argued in September that the joint venture was structurally screwed because GE and News Corp were asking a corporate portal to out-innovate startups, while today's private-beta first impressions run warm across TechCrunch and GigaOM alike.
The telling signal is the tone shift among reviewers — BoomTown's same-day post is literally titled "I Eat My Words" and concedes Hulu will shake up online video, meaning the skeptic camp from September is publicly revising within weeks of first hands-on access.
First-order effects
- NBC and News Corp now have a working, well-reviewed distribution channel for their own shows outside YouTube and their individual network sites, backed by Providence Equity Partners' $100 million.
- The skeptical analyst narrative around the venture takes an immediate hit: two of the most-read tech outlets have published favorable hands-on verdicts on launch day.
Second-order effects
- Rival video platforms face a credible ad-supported alternative stocked with premium broadcast content, pressuring them to improve licensed-TV offerings or concede that segment.
- Advertisers gain a brand-safe, professionally produced streaming inventory option just as they were defaulting to user-generated video buys, shifting some pricing power toward network-owned portals.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, content owners keeping distribution in-house via jointly funded portals becomes the template for how television reaches the web — with the unresolved question being whether media conglomerates can sustain the product pace the skeptics doubted.
The trend: Television's migration to the web is being led by network-owned portals rather than third-party platforms, with professional-review sentiment flipping from dismissal to endorsement inside the first month of access.