Perhaps you heard yesterday that Comcast bought NBC Universal meaning that it's probably the most powerful entertainment entity in the universe, except for that evil empire known as Disney. One of things that got me thinking was that NBC Universal has a lot of content streamed on Hulu, but that takes away from Comcast's own on demand service (which by the way, is one of the most addicting tv services ever), so would they pull the plug on Hulu? As expected, Comcast announced its buyout of NBC Universal today, a deal that has left many wondering what will happen to Hulu, the ad-driven TV and movie streaming site. According to Comcast COO Stephen Burke the answer is: not much. Burke referred to Hulu's existing business model as "smart and appropriate" and said there aren't any plans to change the site.
Burke noted that NBC has been "careful not to put too much cable content on the Internet." Comcast CEO Brian Roberts emphasized further that Comcast has no intent to "crush [Hulu] like a bug." It's worth mentioning that NBCU is only one of two other studios (ABC and Fox) with a stake in Hulu, so it can't determine the site's fate outright. Roberts also said that a Hulu subscription model isn't in the cards -- but time will tell.
Thank god, that would have absolutely ruined my day.
(This is from Media Chow)
