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Hulu.com’s Increased Following Aligns With Internet TV Trends

Advertisers might be interested to know that one out of four U.S. households watches TV online, up from 20 percent last year, according to a September study by The Conference Board, a nonprofit economic forecasting agency, in association with media market researcher TNS.

That’s great news for San Diego’s Veoh Networks and its blockbuster viewing site, Hulu.com. The study shows Hulu gaining ground — though still behind YouTube — with TV watchers.

Researchers said the number of households visiting Hulu.com has increased fourfold in the past year.

Dmitry Shapiro, founder and CEO of Veoh, puts the number of regular viewers at 24 million.

“It’s a natural evolution of the way we consume television,” Shapiro said. “TiVo showed us consumers don’t want to watch live TV. In this day and age, sitting in front of the television and hoping there’s something valuable to watch at that very moment is ridiculous. People want to watch what they want, when they want it. The Internet brings this to a new level. Why even program a DVR?”

In view of the site’s ability to generate ad revenue, Hulu has a potential runaway lead over YouTube. Even though YouTube has more unique views and more clicks per viewer, the majority of the content is amateurish and offers little advertisement.

Hulu consists of professional content containing ads. More than 130 content providers have submitted 1,000 TV episodes and full-length movies to the site.

Industry observers say consumers are moving away from “appointment” TV, preferring to watch programs whenever they choose. Portability is another bonus.

“Online viewing allows users to catch up on missed content and focus on their favorite programs,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center.

“The rise of Hulu is not a coincidence,” said Bernard Brenner, senior vice president of innovation and product development at TNS. “Hulu and other online TV viewing options have created a user experience equivalent to how people self-categorize content — sorting by brand, genre and popularity.”

Veoh Networks and Hulu appear to have this year’s popularity contest wrapped up.

Send technology news items to Richard Gincel at rgincel@sdbj.com.

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