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The rumors that started in June appear to be becoming a reality.  Hulu will soon start charging for content.  Hulu board member Chase Cary said it’s time for the site to adopt a “meaningful subscription model.”  He was quick to add that the entire site would not be fee based but was unsure exactly what the pay wall would contain.  He suggested maybe the site would offer special programming or advanced screenings.

When the news broke, Twitter erupted.  Angry users began throwing the idea of a site boycott around and blasting the decision. “Hulu will be the next Megavideo. Don’t companies get it? We don’t pay for media anymore. If we appreciate the song/movie, we’ll buy it!” said one user. “The good times are over,” lamented another. “Screw you, Hulu!”

Hulu isn’t the first online media outlet to decide to implement a pay model.  Newsday, a Long Island based newspaper, has announced it will begin to charge non-subscribers $20 a month, or $5 a week, to access the paper’s website.

With newspapers dying and more and more people relying on the Internet to get their news, entertainment and other information, such moves make sense. The old media is starting to realize not only the large audiences the net offers, but also the need to embrace new media sources to keep their bottom line up.  However asking people to pay for something they are used to getting for free is never easy.  Hopefully, Hulu will find a way to soften the blow and make the change easy to swallow.

If Hulu does decide to make more than just special programming available for a fee, it may well drive business to such sites as Amazon and iTunes.  They both offer TV shows for purchase either per episode or full season, but unlike Hulu which doesn’t let you save content to your hard drive or mobile device, they do.  That’s a big deal to a lot of folks.  There are some third party programs that claim to let you download and save Hulu content but they aren’t free and likely violate Hulu’s ToS.

Offering such a download and save feature might be just what Hulu needs to make their transition to a pay service have a better chance at success.

Read [LA Times]