Executives at News Corp. are hoping you will. It was announced yesterday that starting sometime in 2010 the ultra-popular video site Hulu.com will begin charging users a subscription fee, though the details were not made clear. Instant feedback shows most people are not happy about it, with 70% of people responding to a poll by Entertainment Weekly saying they will not pay for Hulu.

I'm sure execs knew making the jump from a free service to pay service would be difficult, but this mught just be impossible. Despite featuring ads in all their videos, Hulu has not been able to make a profit. However, a subscription fee isn't likely to fix that. While Hulu currently offers a great service, the FREE part was what made it great. In the internet age, they should by now if they won't offer their content for free, someone else will.

Despite the legal restrictions on posting copyrighted video on free video services, popular TV shows and movies are still easy to find on YouTube and other free video sites. If Hulu removes all their free content, I'm sure there are countless other sites anxious to take their place. While nowhere near the same level in popularity, TV.com is already building a following and will be the most likely site to try and step in to fill the void in a legit way. When Napster became a pay service, countless clones sprung up to take over. I have no doubt the same will happen with Hulu.

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/10/22/hulu-to-start-charging-in-2010/

It's amazing how much content is being transferred or finding new life on the Web these days.
In recent weeks, it's been announced by Craig Schulz, Charles Schulz's son, that 20 Peanuts digital shorts will be made available online.
Schulz is president of Creative Associates, which approved and manages all of the licensing for Peanuts-related products.
In interviews, he said the webisodes are an attempt to get children to turn to the comic strip in books and newspapers.
I can't help but be happy about that. I just hope enough kids are willing to get their mom or dad to pay the .99 per webisode or $7.99 for the season pass.
Another positive move toward the Internet and the entertainment world is MGM talking to the folks at YouTube about featuring some of their flicks on their site.
Not a bad way to get some of the best and brightest stars of yesterday to an audience who might not know just how great some of those old musicals from the 40s and 50s are.
These types of marketing initiatives that show just how much technology has changed our lives in the last 20 years.
It's also nice to know more is being done to showcase the best artistic efforts of our culture, rather than just thinking of the Web as a quick way to get porn or order airline tickets.