Bob Williams

Hulu adding Disney

I recently wrote about online options to traditional TV.  This week Disney announced plans to buy a 30% stake in Hulu. You’ll soon be able to view programs from the Disney family of networks on Hulu.

Big networks are preparing for the eventual wave of online viewers. NBC, Fox, and Disney now all have a stake in Hulu. You can expect to see their marketing departments experiment with content delivery and advertising programs as the online viewership of Hulu grows.

Bob Williams

Have you ditched cable and satellite TV? Online alternatives

In my last post I compared the marketing focus and features of Netflix and Blockbuster mail order DVD programs. Traditionally these have been thought of as complementary programming to standard cable or satellite TV. However, with added features such as television network programming, they may become substitute products for cable and satellite in the future.

Another group of alternatives is online streaming video and programming from companies such as Hulu and Joost.

Joost provides television, movie, and music programming through online streaming. The content is free of charge to the consumer as ads from sponsors pay for the service. The Joost web site is a a full-on social media site …Continue reading >>

Bob Williams

Have you ditched cable and satellite TV? Mail order alternatives

It’s 2009 and just like you have alternatives for how you listen to music (radio, satellite, CD, digital player, etc.), there are a growing number of alternatives for how you watch video content as well. Gone are the days when you were restricted to watching video on your television from cable or satellite. You’ve got choices now for free or subscription based content delivered through your Internet device or from a home subscription service. This can make a big difference in your monthly budget. Right now I pay $52 per month for expanded basic cable TV (No movie channels, No High Definition, No DVR, yaddy yadda.) That’s $624 annually for …Continue reading >>