Can Hulu Reprogram The Way We Watch TV?
The streaming service’s new curated bundle of live channels could represent the future of television.
Picture this: You’re out to dinner with your in-laws and (reluctantly) missing the NBA playoffs. Suddenly, you get a notification on your phone: Your team just might pull off an upset. You’re asked if you’d like to “watch now” or “watch later.” After some internal debate, you wisely decide to tap LATER and, when dinner ends, start watching on the ride home. When you get to your living room, you flip on the TV and pick up where you left off.
This is the future of television as envisioned by Hulu. Until now, the 10-year-old video-streaming company has primarily been known as a place to catch up on network shows after they’re broadcast. But this spring, it’s launching a live-TV subscription: For less than $40 a month, viewers will be able to access both Hulu’s deep content library and real-time streams of more than 50 broadcast and cable networks, including CBS, ESPN, and FX. The service will also include DVR-like products that work on phones, tablets, and TVs. The goal is to deliver, for less than half the price of cable, the best of live television with the on-demand functionality of a streaming platform—along with features that neither offering has ever seen before.
fastcompany.com |
