Thursday, May 28, 2009
Hulu: Watch Our Shows on a Big Screen, but not on a TV
Want to watch the season finale of “30 Rock” for free, whenever you want, on a big screen? Go for it, says Hulu–just don’t watch it on a TV.
Confused? Of course. So was I when I checked out Hulu’s new “Desktop” app, launched today as part of the video service’s new “Labs” collection of experimental offerings.
Basically, it’s downloadable software that makes it easier than ever to watch Hulu’s shows and clips in the same way that you’d watch TV–on your sofa, remote in hand. But Hulu wants to make sure you don’t actually think it replaces TV.
One big reason why very few ad dollars have yet to make their way from television to the Web, even though online video is booming: TV viewing isn’t shrinking. Yet. Nielsen says more Americans are watching TV than ever before–up 1.2 percent in the last quarter–and they’re spending more time watching TV, too–that’s up 1.9 percent, to a staggering 153-plus hours per month.
Dave Morgan made his reputation, and fortune, by building RealMedia and Tacoda–two pioneering Web advertising technology companies. So it’s no surprise to see him launch another ad start-up. But it is surprising to hear about the market he’s targeting: TV ads for TV shows.
Do the names Joanne Bradford, Mike Walrath, Wenda Millard and Greg Coleman mean anything to you? Do you know what pork bellies have to do with online advertising? Then you may get a chuckle out of this video, prepared by Yahoo for an ad industry gathering last week. For the rest of you, how about a clip from Jimmy Fallon, whose new show starts tomorrow night? 
