When I called Eugene Wei in June 2007 to ask him to join me as a summer intern on this adventure once referred to as “NewCo,” I knew he would be a great builder for our team. That internship turned into a nearly four-year career and, along the way, Eugene’s influence has permeated the nooks and crannies of Hulu, from the look and feel of the site to the customer-obsessed ethos that is as natural as oxygen here at Hulu.
Eugene is a builder, and similar to other builders, he has always had an overabundance of interests and not enough time to pursue all of them. Not surprisingly, Eugene’s next move is to build a company of his own. While it is hard for all of us to see a friend and colleague leave, we take pride in the accomplishments a builder like Eugene has achieved. In his time with Hulu, Eugene has been a central force in growing the product and developer team from five builders to 145 across Santa Monica, Seattle, and Beijing. And that hard work is enabling us to welcome more than 150 new builders across the company this year alone.
On behalf of the entire Hulu team, thank you, Eugene, for the amazing foundation you helped to build here at Hulu. Your work and your teams will delight so many people in the years to come.
April 29th, 2011 by Pete ThompsonGeneral Manager, Xbox LIVE
Dear Hulu Community,
As a TV and movie buff, I’m excited to announce that as of today, Xbox is bringing you a brand new way to enjoy Hulu Plus content from the comfort of your living room. What makes it even better? No need to fish through your couch cushions to find the remote when you want to fast forward to your favorite action sequence or pause that TV show to grab a cold soda. With Kinect for Xbox 360, you can simply say “Xbox, pause” or use gestures to rewind, pause and fast forward your way through your favorite shows.
Joining an expanding catalogue of tens of thousands of TV shows, movies and sports, plus millions of songs, the addition of Hulu Plus gives U.S.-based Xbox LIVE Gold members and Hulu Plus subscribers the chance to instantly stream episodes of top shows and use their voice as the remote control. With a growing community of 30 million active members around the world and the only place to enjoy control-free entertainment, we can’t wait for you to experience Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE.
It’s partners like Hulu that allow us to deliver amazing content, while also enhancing your living room entertainment experience through the power of Kinect. As Rob mentioned, you can even try Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE at no cost between April 29 and May 6 thanks to our advertising partner, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, who is sponsoring free access to all Xbox LIVE members (Free or Gold). It’s time to run that TV marathon party!
We’re looking forward to innovating further and the launch of Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE marks just the beginning of what’s still to come. What will you be watching on Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE this weekend?
[...] xBox 360 Buy GamesXbox Kinect GamesXbox 360 4GB Console + Kinect Bundle – Who Said Nothing in Life is FreeHulu Plus Available Today on Xbox 360: Stream Your Favorite TV Shows and Movies Through Xbox LIVE an… [...]
[...]Hulu Plus Available Today on Xbox 360: Stream Your Favorite TV Shows and Movies Through Xbox LIVE and Experience the Magic of Kinect « Hulu Blog[...]…
[...]Hulu Plus Available Today on Xbox 360: Stream Your Favorite TV Shows and Movies Through Xbox LIVE and Experience the Magic of Kinect « Hulu Blog[...]…
So I just signed on with hulu plus for the 1 week trial and have been browsing through it. Well like everyone else, most everything i watch is web only. Needless to say i will discontinue hulu plus at the end of my trial. Sorry hulu, its just not worth it. Come back to your customers when you really have content to offer.
So due to restrictions by content providers you cannot provide any good content on other devices and so essentially charge 7.99 for less content than would be available on a PC.
I tried Hulu plus now for a few hours and with the exception of two shows all other shows I regularly watch are web only …. i. e. this offer is totally useless and I will cancel immediately.
Keep us up to date when there is some content that is worth paying for, thanks.
Hi Daniel, thanks for posting. I understand the inconvenience this is causing you and apologize for the trouble. We certainly want to bring all the content we can to as many platforms as possible. But the rights to stream something to your computer are different from the rights to stream it to your TV, which are again different from the rights to stream it to a mobile device. Content owners are ultimately the ones who decide where their content is shown, and that sometimes means their content might only be available at Hulu.com.
We’re doing everything we can to narrow the gap between what’s only on our site and what’s available through Hulu Plus. Obtaining these additional streaming rights requires a lot of hard work, and negotiations with content owners take time. I hope this information helps!
I am staring at a tv show on my PC that Hulu will let me watch. Yet I cant watch it on my xbox? what a rip-off!!! At least netflix will let you watch stuff on either place. I would like to view shows with my family as a family… NOT stare at my laptop screen. $8.00 a month?
I would be willing to pay a little extra if that “Web Only” would be availe to my other devices.
Otherwise, I will be forced to drop paid hulu and go back to netflix.
I too was lured by the free trial (that I actually have to provide credit card info for) and have been massively disappointed. I can’t believe I’m actually expected to pay $8 a month for content with ads (just like the FREE web content) and am constantly being told that a very large portion of the content is “web only”, which frequently means I could be watching it on my computer for FREE anyway. This just screams rip-off, and fills me with disappointment. :(
Really? Web-Only. Destination Truth, You claimed to have made a deal with Syfy, but still Syfy shows are web-only, so I go to the web and I see it’s for HuluPlus only also. What gives? Why can’t you put it on the xbox then. This is nonsense, Netflix even has Destination Truth for streaming. And it’s not just that one show, SEVERAL shows, recommended shows and recently added shows are “web-only” Why show them to me on my xbox if you aren’t even going to allow me to watch it? Really grinds my gears. And I know it’s not a license thing. Stop lying to your consumers, that’s not nice at all.
Hulu has got to get with it on the “Web-Only” stuff! I mean for real, you can’t hardly buy a tv these days that doesn’t have a pc input. All we have to do is hook our laptops up to our tv’s, but that’s a drag since my xbox and roku are already hooked up. If this isn’t fixed soon im dropping HULU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[...]Hulu Plus Available Today on Xbox 360: Stream Your Favorite TV Shows and Movies Through Xbox LIVE and Experience the Magic of Kinect « Hulu Blog[...]…
I signed up for Huluplus 2 weeks ago after cancelling my cable service and spending $ money on streaming internet media players for the TVs in my house. Really dissapointed that most of my favorite programs seem to be only available on the Web. If I have to watch my programs on my PC instead of my TVs, then I guess I will cancel Huluplus as I can easily search the net from my PC for free.
[...]Hulu Plus Available Today on Xbox 360: Stream Your Favorite TV Shows and Movies Through Xbox LIVE and Experience the Magic of Kinect « Hulu Blog[...]…
Thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback about Hulu Plus. I completely understand some of your frustration with web-only content. Please understand that streaming media rights can be a complex issue, particularly for content that isn’t available on DVD or syndication. It is our ambition to offer all our content on TV and mobile devices. However, these negotiations take time and we appreciate your patience as we continue to improve the service.
I agree with everyone on this board about the “web-only” content. Its a total deal breaker. When it was first launched on xbox most of the shows I liked were available thru the xbox. however I’ve noticed lately more and more are on web only, which is really disappointing. I will most likely be cancelling my subscription in the near future due to this. Wake up Hulu, listen to your customers!
Note that Hulu has chosen not to respond to any of the criticism about web-only content because there is no reasonable response. Anything that is available on a laptop should be available on any other “mobile” device. If there is any difference in licensing between smartphones/tablets and laptops it’s only because the idiots writing these agreements wish to extract more revenue from customers by nickel and diming them on access privileges.
I signed up for the 7 day trial to use the service on my iPad. I now plan to end the subscription before the trial expires. There’s absolutely no point in a service that offers a large percentage of “web only” content that can be viewed on a laptop, yet not on other equally mobile devices such as tablets.
Why the hell am I being charged for a service I cannot really use. Everything worth a damn is web only and can be watched for free anyway with just as much advertisements.
It would also be nice if I could filter out the ‘web only’ content. Instead I have to select 20 different shows or movies before I find one I can watch.
People are right in thinking this is a terrible service. Over half of my favorites are web only and there is absolutely no benefit for paying for this service. Please do not waste money and maybe Hulu will see how much they need to revamp this.
This may be one of the most useless services I’ve ever seen. I had about 6 particular shows in mind when I signed up for my week trial, and was very open minded to cancelling my Netflix account if everything with Hulu Plus checked out to be what it was ADVERTISED to be. Well, lo and behold, EVERY show I had in mind was either “web only” or just not there at all. After searching for another few minutes for some “backup” shows, which brought me the same results (or lack thereof), I cancelled immediately so I didn’t flush $7.99 down the proverbial toilet. I seriously can’t think of ONE reason someone would leave Netflix for this service, and I will be telling every Netflix user that I personally know the same thing.
Signed-up for a free trial today and the first thing i noticed was most of my favorites were web only…very disappointed with hulu plus. Tell me whats the point of hulu plus agian?
bla bla bla !!! hulu fucking sucks period…. 7.99 for web content only lololo!!!! yo huluu did u knew theres something called youtube? and its free!! lol @ Hulu ahahaha shitty service….
Thanks for your reply. The price of Hulu Plus is based on the content and services we’re providing, not based on content or services we’re not providing. We have a lot of great content available through the Hulu Plus service, including the pricey current season content we pride ourselves on here at Hulu. We’re also providing that selection of content to a great number of devices, and providing much of it in HD.
We here think this is a great value as it is, and will continue to make it a better one.
Because television and mobile rights are separate from computer ones, we can’t just flip a switch on every show, but we’ll continue to build out the Hulu Plus service as time goes on, and feel that, for the right people, it’s a fantastic service as it is.
If you have further questions, reaching us at http://bit.ly/HuluHelp is always the most rapid way to get a hold of us.
To answer your question about why we can’t have past seasons on some shows, or more than five episodes on others, it’s simply just a function of the agreements that were made. We have to come to terms with each content provider will be providing us with, how much they will be providing, and what the benefits and risks of providing that are.
Each content provider has their own things to consider, but thankfully we’ve been able to come to agreements for what we feel is a great set of content. But we’re not stopping there, we want it all. Our content acquisition team works hard every day. Recently you’ve seen the great additions of Viacom, South Park, Miramax, and the Criterion Collection and you’ll continue to see more making it a greater and greater value.
Maybe we don’t have the content you personally desire right now. Check back later and maybe we’ll have it then. Not every service is for everyone, but Hulu Plus is a great value to a great many users. Thanks for giving it a chance.
Thanks for answering some of the questions posted here but why is Hulu Plus charging if you cannot access most of your content? That does not make much sense. You get less for paying? Why dont you make Hulu Plus free until the all the rights are worked out?
Hmmm, Netflix seems to have more content than Hulu for the same price with NO ads! All the shows I want to see on Hulu are web only and there are only 5 episodes. Give me one good reason why all the seasons can’t be streamed with a paid subscription. Tell me again why I’m paying for both? I think Hulu is going to be losing my 7.99+tax each month. This is absolutely ridiculous. It’s 2011 folks, let’s get with the program!
I’m sorry that not all content is currently available for television and mobile streaming. I know it’s frustrating when you can’t watch the content you want in the way you want to watch it. It is our goal to make all of our content available for devices, but it will take some time and cooperation before this becomes a reality. When we launched the free Hulu.com service, our rights were limited to streaming on the PC. With Hulu Plus, we are now able to offer much – but admittedly not all – of that content on PCs, tablets, phones and TVs, and in HD when available.
Unfortunately, due to content rights issues, we are not able to include all of the content you find on the free Hulu.com service on devices, so you’ll find that the content available on our website is different from that offered on the Hulu app for your iPhone, iPad or TV. Obtaining the streaming rights for these devices requires a lot of hard work and these negotiations take time.
Before we launched Hulu Plus, we wanted to be sure we had a robust offering of content available for subscribers. Today, Hulu Plus includes hundreds of shows, some of which haven’t been available online before, and full runs of many of them. The full list is available at ( http://www.hulu.com/plus/content ). Still, we understand it’s disappointing when you can’t access some of your favorite shows on devices. Please know that we are working diligently to include as much content as possible in Hulu Plus so you can enjoy more of your favorite shows where and when you want, and we’re confident the offering will improve over time.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
im with everyone else on this matter. i have netflix and i loved it but it sucked not being able to watch new episodes so i bought hulu plus so i could watch season 7 of the office. I decently satisfied because i got to see the hilarious episodes i missed. And then I go and try to find other shows i like and they’re all “web only” -_- once im done watching the season i will be ending my subscription until they fix this.
I have been a Hulu plus member since Sep 03, 2010 back when it was announced that plus would be on xbox. I was looking forward to watching Always sunny, In Plain Sight, Chuck, The League, Louie, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Haven and White Collar on my xbox… but to my dismay after paying for 10 months. EVERY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHOWS IS WEB ONLY?!?!?!? What am I paying for?
So the comments on this thread are 95% about the “web only” xbox issue and there is no response from hulu staff. I am also frustrated by this issue and will not pay for it for this reason. Anyone at hulu that has a pair dare post a response?
As I run out of my favorite TV series through my netflix on XBOX I resort to sitting in my computer chair on watching them on the pc. I learn about hulu plus on XBOX and am estatic. I put it all my credit card information and get ready for the TV series’s to begin. All of the sudden “WEB ONLY!!!!”. I wanted to puke. What a jest get it right or pay the price hulu way to fail hardcore. Free trial then I am out. LATA!
Seriously? Even though I can stream via HDMI, I am still shocked at how useless this Xbox app is. It’s either none of the material I’m PAYING for, or none of it. All you did by offering this thoughtless half-created app was bring me up just to disappoint me.
Wow .. less than hour into my trial and I can’t play any of my shows, because the content is available via the web only. Why should I need to use a web browser? I’m cancelling and not giving Hulu any money because of this.
Web Only? That’s all I see on xbox. That and Buffering….I remember watching all shows and all the episodes for free. I don’t mind paying for it, But the only reason to subscribe is to watch on the xbox. Not the web. Get it together HULU or I’m walkin’ and I’m taking my friends with me. Peace Off!
I agree, I hate the Web only shows. Many of these shows are the reason I wanted to get plus to watch on Xbox live. But I can not!! Why? The quality I experience is great on my TV through live but if these shows keep stating web only I will be cancelling the service,
Hulu plus for xbox was obviously released before it was ready. The CONSTANT buffering and “network conditions have changed – 0801″ errors make it almost un-usable. The problem is definitely the hulu-xbox app, as I have no problem watching hulu on laptop or netflix on xbox.
Now that software updates can be distributed quickly and automatically, it seems like there is no longer a “beta test” period. I’m really sick and tired of being a beta tester for not-ready-for-primetime products, AND paying for the privilege. I’ll be calling Hulu support and asking them to continuing making my plus subscription free, until the product I’m purchasing actually works.
Regarding the “web-only” content: I’m sure that will be my next frustration. But seeing as how I can’t even watch the xbox-available content most of the time, it hasn’t really hit me hard yet.
This has clearly been stated dozens of times already here, and the deluge of spam comments is probably an indicator that no one here at Hulu even cares enough to read these comments, but I am so insensed about my experience with Hulu Plus that I have to comment anyway.
I’m about to go into a pretty lengthy rant, so let me preface it with this one crucial point: Hulu IS major network television. The major networks jointly own Hulu, and so the interests of major networks ARE the interests of Hulu. There can be no disputing this, even as Hulu tries to paint itself as the hip anti-establishment alternative to getting your shows directly from the networks. If you doubt this, just check the second paragraph of the Wikipedia listing for Hulu, where the joint owners of Hulu are described as NBC/Universal, Fox/Newscorp, and ABC/Disney. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulu)
Hulu Plus, as a concept, has the potential to change the way people purchase television content permanently. With the ridiculous flaws currently plagueing the system, however, it’ll be dead within a year–I have no doubt. That is, of course, unless the problems are fixed. I feel uncertain about whether they’ll be fixed, though, because I have a feeling that some of the people involved want Hulu Plus to fail. I don’t know the numbers, but I’m guessing that advertising dollars still come easier for broadcast programs than for internet programs, and that the per-second rate is higher for broadcast as well. So, my impression is that someone realized this at some point between the announcement of Hulu Plus and the launch, and decided that it would have to fail in order to keep the revenue flowing in the old, more lucrative broadcast model. It’s sad, because more foresight would reveal that after the transition from broadcast to IP in market share, the revenue opportunities in the eventually dominant IP arena will inevitably climb, and in a new, changing environment, new rules can be written, meaning that a savvy driver could steer Hulu into charging more for ad time than the individual networks can now. A major selling point, once they claimed the larger portion of the audience, would be that most broadcast viewers will be skipping commercials via DVR, while Hulu viewers won’t have that option.
Hulu, if you get your act together and fix this ridiculous web-only mess, and maybe drop the ads for at least SOME shows, you’ll have my money. I’ll stop giving my money to Charter Cable and TiVo, and just invest in Hulu and Netflix. I know you secretly don’t want me to do that, though, which is why I’ll probably be building myself a nice Ubuntu box out of an old P4 system, adding an $18 HDMI card to watch Hulu FREE and not have to give up on seeing certain shows on my HD set. If you try to keep me from using Linux, well just try to stop me from using an old XP license (because I’m not using any of those right now anyway). And hey, if you decide to arrest my web access completely (as you’ve already started to do by limited back-episodes of current seasons to Plus subscribers)–well, have you heard of ThePirateBay? Checkmate.
(As I have demonstrated a willingness to pay for the product, if prevented from doing so, I have no trouble justifying use of torrents. Do they think they’ll stop me? Peerblock.com, friends.)
When my currently prepaid six months are up, I will be cancelling. The web only content is a deal breaker for me. It is unfortunate that so many of the things I want to watch are available for free on your website, but not to those who would support your company on the device of their choice.
I agree with everyone. I am so bummed with the “WEB ONLY” crap. I’m not giving them my money. I’m buying a MacMini and getting all the shows I want. It’s a shame, it could have been revolutionary :(
The title of this article is: “Stream Your Favorite TV Shows”…only I can’t. All of MY favorite TV shows are “web only”. Every. Single. One.
I have been waiting for Hulu Plus to come to Xbox for nearly a year. I am NOT a cable TV customer. So let me share a little basic business sense with you:
Don’t promise your target market (i.e. people who won’t pay for crappy cable) something and then blatently say FU once they have paid. The basic rule is if someone likes something they will tell 7 people, and if they don’t like it they will tell 23. If that’s 23 comments on blogs, then think of how many MILLIONS of potential customers you just chased away.
I just signed up for the free trial. I agree with everyone else, the “web only” content is a deal breaker. Please explain why I should be a *paying* member of Hulu Plus only to receive a portion of the content.
I agree with everyone else. I was extremely excited that Xbox began streaming Hulu and I intended to sign up after the trial. However, the majority of the shows I want to watch are ‘Web-Only’. Dealbreaker
Love the app and would gladly pay for it, if it was not for all the “Web Only” videos. If i could atleast stream the same videos to the xbox or ipad as i already can online for free would be well worth it. Will occasionally check and see if you have solve this problem, until till then thanks for the free week hulu and Jack Links. (Love that Sasquatch)
I didn’t realize there were some web browser only shows, but I have been watching Hulu on my TV since I can remember (PC connection. I watched on Xbox Live for the first time last night and the picture quality is amazing. I had been waiting to sign up for Hulu+ until the Xbox app was released and based on picture quality alone, it’s worth it. I hope they figure out this web only nonsense. There are ads anyway, so why does it matter if I’m watching them on my PC or on my Xbox? Clickability?
The number of Web only shows ruins this experience, most of the shows I wanted to watch are not available. Not likely to pay for this, but would have paid more to have more shows available.
Comcast owns NBC. A lot of good NBC shows are web content only. Coincidence? I think not. Why would NBC (Comcast) want to take people away from T.V. Look at how many people have posted saying they don’t have cable and, only use Netflix and Hulu Plus. Less money in Comcasts pockets to make people happy? Doubt it…. I thought the FCC covered this when they said Comcast couldn’t run Hulu into the ground because it’s a direct competitor.
I agree the mob. I can’t watch most of the shows I want unless I watch them on the web. What’s the point? Im not paying for limited access. HULU plus is a very misleading name. Where is the plus or even plain hulu?
It seems everyone wants all the web only shows. This is my complaint too. I was excited that HuluPlus was going to be available on Xbox, but this completely defeats the purpose. I’m actually sad to say that I won’t be signing up after the trial period ends.
would not pay for hulu plus on xbox because of the “web only content” if im going to pay i want it all!!!! also what happens when the trial runs out will i still be able to watch tv on hulu or will the xbox app just ask for payment?
I have to chime in with everyone else. I’d been anxiously waiting for Hulu Plus to come to xbox, happy to pay the monthly fee, to get access, and to have access to newer/fresher shows than Netflix which my family currently uses.
However; the fact that so many shows are ‘web only’, not only hampers the service, it is essentially killing it for me, given that so many shows that I would be willing to pay the fee for (Simpsons for one) are ‘web only’.
Especially when there are many other ways to get those Hulu shows streamed to my xbox, in lesser-quality/wrapped presentations.
First off, thank you. I am happy to see more content brought to the Xbox platform. That said, I must agree with the lack of content issues. It is great that there are a few current shows that I am able to enjoy right now, but the vast majority of the Hulu library is web only and that sucks. I would be willing to pay $10/month for the ENTIRE Hulu library to be available through the Xbox and other assorted peripherals. And here’s why: I dumped cable. I only use Netflix streaming currently and love it. This model (and your’s Hulu) IS the future of media consumption.
If Hulu were able to open up its entire library, it would be a great facilitator to current season programs and fill in gaps that Netflix is just not able to fill. This LOWERS the entertainment costs in my household considerably, seeing as how having “basic” cable through my area’s prevalent provider is a $50 (minimum) endeavor as it is. At the $10 price point, a combo of Netflix AND Hulu plus kills traditional cable as far as I am concerned. Now if only the rest of the world saw things my way… lol.
Anyways, please bring up the amount of content on Hulu plus and will consider adding this to my monthly media expenditures. Otherwise, I will likely pay for a single month, watch all the rpograms from the current season and cancel the account for a year. Which sounds better to Hulu? A year @ $10/month or a single month @ $8?
It’s not really the commercials that bother me, but the service is really running terribly on the X Box. Its skipping here and there and the whole stream dropped. Also, the main reason I was anticipating this was to watch Community, but that is Web Only.
Yeah, there’s no way I’m paying a cent for this after my free week. 90% of what I’d want to watch isnt even available unless I go online. Nice interface, poor content. Thanks for nothing.
Great that you’re getting on more devices now.. Until you get the license for all these “web only” shows fixed, it’s going to be DOA. The Simpsons? Really?
Once again, they started out w/ lies: it’s not a month free, it’s a week. It’s a week AFTER you give Hulu your credit card info and allow them into charge you thereafter.
Hulu hired someone to run HuluPlus and then didn’t let them run it right. He valued the service at around $4 – $5 month w/ no running ads during shows. The Old Fogey on the Board from the Cable/Satellite industry wanted to sell HuluPlus for a whopping $10 month w/ ads running like Cable TV –he wanted this because he is an Old Fool and wanted to usurp the authority of the guy hired to do the job.
A compromise was reached for $8 month w/ running ads during shows. That is an archaic and idiotic business model. Everyone under the age of 30 knows that the cable and satellite industry thinks that the public at large is too stupid and passive to know that they’re being fleeced. They have utter contempt for their own customer base. As long as you have morons like this associated w/ Hulu Plus, expect nothing innovative and new from them.
Same problem here as Zach states. I go to hulu.com/plus/unlock, and there is no place to put the code in. Hey but I’m signed up and my free preview is counting down! Not ready for prime time here? What’s the deal?
You had a blog in January of this year saying hulu is now on Vizio HDTVs. I have a Vizio 3D LED/LCD Internet App television and it does not get hulu nor does my vizio blue ray player with internet apps. I called vizio and they said it is hulu who has not placed it to be available on the widgets for the 3D LED/LCD televisions and they have no idea when it will be on the blue ray players. Now my question is, if you have it on some Vizio televisions by now, why not all of them?
I have been waiting for this moment on my Xbox forever! I love the interface – it is much more Netflix “y”. Compared to the interface on the PS3, I really like the way it is laid out on the Xbox. I do not accidentally back out of things like I do on the PS3.
Am I the only one having problems setting this up!? I Go to hulu.com/plus/unlock just like my xbox says and I just get caught in a loop of “learn more” links! Where do I type in my freakin activation code!?
its cool that i get a free week of this. but i would not pay more for this. first, you cant even watch half the shows on xbox because you only can watch it online. second, you still have to watch the stop commercials
The main problem I’m seeing is that most of the shows that I’m wanting to watch are only available via a web browser. If I’m a paid member then I should be able to watch all shows in my xbox, iphone, etc.
April 29th, 2011 by Rob WongDirector, Product Management
I have one of the best jobs on earth. I get to work with insanely smart developers, both here at Hulu and at our device partners, to deliver the Hulu Plus™ subscription service on internet-connected devices. Today is one of those days that makes me smile.
With much excitement, I’m happy to share that Hulu Plus has launched on the Xbox 360 via Xbox LIVE. And thanks to a sponsorship with Jack Link’s, we’re able to offer ALL Xbox LIVE members (free and Gold) one free week of Hulu Plus, no Gold membership or credit card required. Just log in on your Xbox 360 and select “Hulu Plus” on the main menu. (Thanks, Jack Link’s!) The offer is available for a limited time.
Hulu Plus offers hit TV shows and classic movies anytime in HD. Instantly stream any current season episode of top shows like Modern Family, 30 Rock, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and many others. And catch up on full back seasons on series including Lost, Chapelle’s Show and Battlestar Galactica, or explore hundreds of acclaimed movies from The Criterion Collection. All for $7.99 a month with limited advertising.
Available today, Xbox LIVE Gold Members gain unlimited access to our deep library of movies and TV shows any time. And we’ve built the Hulu Plus experience on the Xbox 360 to take advantage of the controller-free navigation via Kinect. Thanks to the magic of Kinect, you become the controller and can play, pause, fast forward and rewind with just the sound of your voice or the wave of your hand. Kinect support for Hulu Plus will also feature a recommendation channel that doesn’t require a controller and suggests movies or TV shows that you may enjoy. It’s an experience like no other.
Watch a guided tour on how to set up Hulu Plus on your Xbox 360 here. To sign up for your Hulu Plus subscription and learn more about its benefits, visit http://www.hulu.com/plus/unlock.
If you are an existing Hulu Plus subscriber with an Xbox LIVE Gold membership, you can easily activate your account on your Xbox 360 by simply logging in.
Our team is constantly working to expand Hulu Plus to even more devices. We hope you enjoy watching Hulu Plus on the Xbox 360 as much as we enjoyed building it. Enjoy!
I’m currently on the trial subscription… I was noticing that each category is limited to 100 episodes, movies, etc. If I continue to the full subscription, will this still be the issue?
I have to say, I have been slightly dissapointed by hulu plus on xbox. The limited content allowed isnt worth the $8 a month, when i can watch with a free hulu account. Also, I figured when i began to pay commercials would be limited. Nope..lots of commercials. I use alot of workout videos, and the worst thing in the middle of a good burn is a commercial! Lame! I think I will cancel Hulu and try Netflix
I just dropped hulu plus from my xbox after just two days very disapointed in hulu for many reasons. Buffering way to much, you could learn somthing from netflix. netflix always works smoothly with out the constant buffering. Also I figured with hulu plus I could get all my content on my x box……no and what I do get is junk. Its bad enough I had to pay xbox for a 12 month subscription and then dish out extra cash for hulu. Well I learned and will not go down that road again. get it together hulu or better yet maybe netflix will buy you out.
I cancelled Hulu Plus after 3 days due to poor programming. The movies lack quality and are for the mindless. Too much violence, idiot-mentality humor and sex. I watched one movie and noticed a jittery picture, very annoying. My internet connection download speed is usually between 6 to 11 MBPS, so the problem’s not on my end.
I get a lot more out of Amazon Instant Video where I can watch a TV show or movie from start to finish without interruption. . Much better quality TV shows and movies for both adults and kids. Much improvement is needed here.
Adding the Criterion Collection was genius. I am extremely happy with hulu plus on my xbox now that I upped my internet speed from a stone age 0.71 mbps to 3.1. (That will solve your problems with constant buffering by the way).
Only thing I don’t get now is how do you add user star ratings after you watch something?
Hulu Plus on xbox is terrible. Shows constantly buffer, video quality is poor and there are commercials!!! Not just one or two but you are bombarded by them. Movie selection stinks and is full of drug related and sexual content without any filters. Glad the first week is free. Won’t make 3 days in my household
Netflix is far superior. Drop the commercials and you will gain an audience
I watch hulu on my xbox 360, i have a xbox live membership as well as a hulu membership and this morning when i tried to use hulu it told me that every video i tried watching was no longer available!!!! What is going on here? I pay good money for this stuff and it’s not working??? Tell me how to fix it.
I don’t get what all the excitement is with the new Xbox update. You were able to watch movies before without a subscription to Xbox live. Now you have to pay for Xbox live to pay for Hulu to not be able to get all the content you can on Hulu normally? This is suppose to be better than cable? I’ll pass on Xbox live and cable, hook up a Mac Miny with Plex and get my content elsewhere.
Thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback! I’m sorry about the frustration you’re experiencing with our web-only content. Please believe that it’s our content team’s goal to get all our content available for TV and mobile devices. Streaming rights negotiations can be a very complex business, and it will take time and hard work to make this a reality for you.
To further speak to your concerns, I’m afraid How I Met Your Mother isn’t actually hosted on our site. You’ll notice that when you access HIMYM episodes on Hulu, you’ll see a black bar at the bottom of the episode’s icon that reads, “Watch at cbs.com”. When you select the episode, you are forwarded to CBS’ site. While we don’t have the rights to offer HIMYM on Hulu, we know it’s a wildly popular show and we want to make it easy for our users to find it and enjoy it. I hope we can offer you How I Met Your Mother some day soon!
I hope this helps explain things. We truly appreciate your patience as we continue to refine and improve our service!
Really Hulu plus all I want to do is watch how I met your mother. With my lady on the XBox and its Web only! ! Cock block Hulu cock block. Get your shot together, or I’m canceling my subscription
I just started with HuluPlus. It worked the first time, then I receive an error 0703 over and over and to “try again later” but that doesn’t work. Why might that be? Thank you.
Like everyone else, I had high hopes we could forego cable and get TV shows from Hulu and movies from Netflix. NEVER had a problem streaming HD through Xbox, but I can barely get a minute out of any show before horrible buffering problems and a timeout error. Probably should have beta tested better before releasing.
Same issue with my TV and computer content locks up really bad within the last two weeks, Dumb enough to go with HULUplus,cancel tonight. Ads were going to cause me to cancel anyway but this new issue with the TV made it easy! Try it.
@ Zane – I cancelled my subscription after a month. I love shows like Fringe and Walking Dead to name a few and it’s web only. Plus I don’t get any fewer commercials on the content I do get. So for $7.99 I least expected full content on the Xbox not some watered down version. I got rid my of HTPC in lieu of my Xbox and got hosed with Hulu+.
I decided against leaving Netflix for Hulu after I tried Hulu for free. The requirement of a gold account for X-Box adds a $10 a month fee when I can get Netflix for free on Wii.
Hulu might consider adding Wii to their devices. Netflix is way ahead on that score.
Seriously, why are 75% or more of the shows web only? We are paying for this service. Hulu really needs to find a way to convince their content providers to allow their shows on xbox. It is hard to justify paying for plus when so much of the content is not available. Also, even if this isn’t possible right now, why do the web only shows in my queue even show up on the xbox? The queue on xbox is basically unusable because I have to scroll through 20 pages of shows that I can’t even watch to find the few that I can. So, instead of using the queue, you pretty much have to manually search for shows or browse the popular shows section. Could you at least give xbox users an option that would hide the web only shows from the queue on xbox? I love hulu and I’m keeping my plus membership for now, but probably not for long if things stay the way they are.
For some reason my hulu user name and password are not working on the xbox…it says that my user name doesnt exist or my password is wrong…I use it everyday on my computer, its getting frustrating…does anyone have any feedback?
Thanks to all of you on your advice concerning Hulu, however, now I don’t know what to do because I just purchased a Playstation 3 not an Xbox for streamlining. After reading the negative comments, I’m not sure if the problem is HUlu or the game systems. Does anyone know the answer to this question? Thanks, Diana
i joined hulu plus thinking I would enjoy watching it from my xbox live. WRONG! This is BS it breaks connection all 98% of the time. Why am I paying for something I can only watch half the stuff online?? #Stupid I am also on my free trial membership I would like to even try it for a month. But I can’t even watch a show with out it cutting off. This shit drives me insane. I am canceling ASAP! Save your money #TeamNetFlix
Thanks for taking the time to give us your thoughts on our Xbox 360 app. I’ll share your comments with our developers. We’re always interested in hearing what users think about our apps—it helps us to think about how to improve future versions!
To see what other Hulu users are requesting as well as make additional requests you can visit our Feature Requests discussions at http://www.hulu.com/discussions/7. While we can’t respond to all the discussions, we do read and make a note of them all.
If there’s anything else you’d like passed on, or questions you’d like answered, please let me know. Happy viewing!
The Xbox 360 Hulu app is terrible compared to the PS3 version. I love my Xbox but it pains me to navigate through my Hulu Queue. They need to port the PS3 version to Xbox 360
I have a Roku and after downloading the update required to install Hulu Plus and launching a sample video, the Roku began ignoring the remote. After changing the batteries (we do use it often for Netflix), I still couldn’t get Hulu’s video to pause, stop or go away – had to power off the Roku to reboot. Worse yet, there were so many commercials in the sample video, we couldn’t keep track of the plot. Ten minutes into the show, we couldn’t even remember what we were watching. For the same money, compared to Netflix, Hulu Plus is so not worth it when you have as many commercials as network TV. It’s worse than CNN. At least with a DVR, we can FF through all the interruptions.
Hey,
I do enjoy using the xbox hulu plus system, but they should really add all the web only shows for streaming. I wish to understand why we cannot watch ALL the shows hulu has. This is hulu PLUS right?
What a crock. I have the same stupid problem with being booted out of shows almost before they can even start. I have a great connection and I don’t have any problems streaming netflix or even HD movies on Zune. Explain to me why your service is the only one that seems to suck so bad?
Thanks for your post. I’m very sorry to hear you’re having trouble streaming on your Xbox, specifically with getting the 0801 error code. This code means that, at the time of the error, your internet bandwidth was not sufficient to continue streaming without significant interruption.
We recommend having at least 1.5 Mbps to stream Hulu smoothly at low qualities, and 3.0 Mbps for smooth streaming in HD. If your connection is noticeably below this, you will likely not be able to stream Hulu Plus on your Xbox. To find out what your connection speed is, go to ( http://www.speedtest.net ), press “Begin Test” at the top of the map, and look out for the download speed results.
If you have any questions about this, please reply with your download and upload speed as well as the ping denoted by speedtest.net at http://hulu.com/support . I’d also be happy to help with any other concerns you may have.
Hulu Plus on the Xbox is a steaming pile of Sith. Regardless of how great your internet connectivity is, your program is constantly interrupted by this 0801 crap code. What a shame. I sure as hell am cancelling my Xbox live subscription and might as well cancel my Hulu+ subscription right along with it.
Don’t most of you pay for cable and it has commercials and then they invent something that passes by the commercials and they charge you again for that. Hmmm I’d rather pay $8 a month and watch 4 commercials an hour then pay $100.
SUBTITLES!!!!! like foreign films and they dont always have subtitles set into the movies (the select that hulu has) so we need the option! I like the idea of hulu+ but poorly executed
I guess I should’ve read these comments before joining Hulu plus and thinking it would run just like netflix. But nope, I guess i figured people who advertise subscriptions on xbox live have them working or at least fix the problem. I have the one month free trial, does anyone know if it will still charge the first month after on my credit card if i cancel before the trials up? This is just BS.
I was really looking forward to Hulu coming to XBOX. I got the service right when it came. The service was awesome at first even better than Netflix (commercials excluded)… then came the buffering, then the commercials, then more buffering and then the “web content only”, wrongly placed commercials (hell commercials period) then the buffering and more buffering. I got to say Hulu, you had me, you really had me. But I think I’m gonna stick with netflix on this one. Let me know when you can hang with the big boy.
I like hulu so I can catch up on my shows. But the problem is the fact I can only watch up to so many episodes. Also I got a plus subscription so I could get no ads. If anything the ads have gotten worse. I’m about to cancel and go back to netflix as I can watch these shows free online with no commercials.
Initial impressions for Hulu Plus via the Xbox are fair, but…..
Promising UI, but please work on the Queue, scrolling right ad infinitum was just too tedious.
The biggest (most unanswered) issue here is the prevalence of so-called “web-only” material. Why on Earth would I bother paying for a service for which a good 30% of the material is web-only? Especially when I can just use Playon for free? If this improves, I’ll likely jump on board. To be continued……
LMAO Found bob’s comment googling “hulu plus sucks”. It does! Rediculous buffering make content unwatchable. Plus commercials in the middle of a character speaking. this crap is a joke. And “web only” videos showing up when I’m clearly on an xbox. Was a huge fan of hulu from day 1. But it seems as if hulu really couldn’t care less….what was the hold up bring it to xbox if this is what u bring?
Back on the 13th you said “Our support team will be happy to investigate the issues you’ve been having.”. I signed up for the free week, then decided to go ahead & do the other offer of a free month by signing up w a credit card because I am an xbox gold live member, but will be charged for the 1st time in a few weeks coming. Just don’t want to get dooped for a pointless charge if your “support team” hasn’t or won’t fix/update your status code: 0801 issue before then. Hulu has had a few weeks so far to at least post something again on this blog about when an update may be coming. I’m sure I’m not tthe only one reading all these posts & is thinking of just canceling because service is horrible if not non existent at most times. Can’t wait to hear something because Hulu could be GREAT, but it just SUCKS!
I’m also dismayed that, on top of the XBox Live membership payments, I’m paying 8 bucks a month for commercials and not all the content…this is not worth it. Why don’t I just spend less and consider another method?
(Also, the ‘connection’ issues that everyone else is experiencing is pretty annoying and rampant.)
I went trough the tv show list and thought “no doubt, i’m switching from netflix” but i can’t make it through the opening credits of family guy… that is sad… c’mon microsoft. apple got it right on the ipad that has a fraction of the power of a xbox. why can’t you? i’m starting to see why apple is taking over the pc world. this is sad.
Anton I don’t think you need responses just read all these comments for the last THREE months. All of us paid for this. Nearly ALL of us hate it. You need to produce or thats it. Or we are gone.
What a JOKE!!!! Hulu Plus sucks!!! I haven’t watched a single episode without it buffering 30 times or more. You should pay me for wasting my time trying to get this stupid retarded crap to work. I HATE everyone that works at HULU and I’m going to punch Wong in the face if I ever run into him. Hulu SUCKS!!!!!!! and you can stick that status code up all your dumb asses. I hope you all burn in HELL!!!!!
Apologies for the previous radio-silence and I’m sorry to hear some of you are experiencing problems with the Hulu Plus application on the Xbox. Our support team will be happy to investigate the issues you’ve been having. Please contact us directly at http://bit.ly/HuluHelp
Great, if it would work. I can stream Netflix to my Xbox and Hulu to my computer and iPad, but I’ve yet to be able to watch a complete show on Hulu for Xbox. Every time I start playing, it comes back with “network conditions have changed” (inevitably before even getting so far as the opening credits) and kicks me back to the menu. Maybe it’s some kind of mini game to figure out? Either way, unhappy.
I was super excited for Hulu Plus. I was definitely going to be a subscriber. After trying it out on my Xbox 360, however, I get the ‘Status Code 0801′ that many complain about. The episode will buffer every 30 seconds or so, eventually stopping the show and giving me that status code. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to watch a minute or two completely smooth – but thats rarely the case.
I won’t even complain about the selection, or the fact that paying Plus customers still have ads. The constant buffering, however, is a deal-breaker.
Sorry Hulu. I was really looking forward to becoming a Plus member for years to come, too.
What gives, Wong? The first two days of my trial rocked, was seriously considering getting rid of cable and sticking with Hulu and Netflix… but now I am getting this “Status Code 0801″ that everyone else is talking about. All my other apps work just fine… In other words, resolve the issue… or kindly suck my balls.
Hulu on xbox is terrible – I have hulu – stream it to my iPad super fast – stream Netflix to my xbox – all on the same network yet hulu on xbox buffers every two seconds until it times out. – horrible experience – it took you guys long enough to figure this out – least you could do is have gotten it right – also Netflix emails me and asks me how the streaming quality was – for hulu I’m searching the net giving my feedback wherever possible. Doesnt reflect well on Microsoft or hulu.
2) NO CBS programs. Apparently they could not work a deal with them. But they somehow got the other major networks, why no CBS ?
——————————————————————————————————————————-
When they get on board I may check back, But I’ll enjoy the free XBox week anyway.
Hulu does have a lot of stuff, but for availability of streaming/dvd’s for Classic TV series (persons 50+, and there are a LOT OF US), Netflix blows them away.
Again, I found several 60′s shows that Hulu has,and not Netflix, but surprise surprise (hey Gomer !), WEB ONLY, which totally defeats the Plus interface.
In their defense, if you’re into the vastness of everything new, this is just what you need.
Works mostly well. Way too many shows are web only that I will probably cancel and check back later. Also the need to make a subscriptions menu option.
I love the fact that hulu is finally on Xbox since I’m already a member I can now watch on my tv but all the commercials and the fact that most of theshows are web only what’s the pointof paying then? I can see if y’all put itlike that for trail members but to also have it like that for full time members is ridiculous and a complete waste.. guess I’m sticking to Netflix until this is a lot better…
WAY too many shows are “web only,” which makes no sense at all. I love having so many critereon films available, but if I can’t stream shows like Fringe via xbox live, then it’s not even close to being worth an additional $8/month on top of my netflix subscription.
I was very excited, until I tried it out and learned how many shows are web only. I don’t see myself keeping it past the free trial if that doesn’t change.
Great to finally have Hulu on the 360, but you seriously need to sort the que by program! Just having a list of a hundred individual items is ridiculous, especially when there are like 10 ways to search/sort content outside your que. I use services like Hulu so I don’t have to watch in “real time” style like TV, so please give us options for que based viewing instead!
I am super excited about Hulu Plus on xbox!!! now we have both netflix and hulu on the tv! thanks developers! I really hope the other networks get on board with this so we can watch shows like Community, Fringe, and 20/20 on the plus version. Also get on the ball CBS and give us the Big Bang Theory and How I met Your Mother.
Instead of cable we have Hulu plus and Netflix. What one doesn’t have or do the other does. Just wish I could get Hulu plus on my wii as well. I spend 16.00 per month for both. Pretty good if you ask me.
also, everything i try to watch ends up stopping after trying to buffer for a dozen times, and says my network conditions have changed. yet no other problems on any device on the network, i’ve even tried this with the xbox plugged directly into the uverse modem, same issue. it times out and says “your network conditions have changed, can’t continue” code 0801
Everything I watch on hulu plus on my xbox is stopping every 5 seconds for “buffering” , Netflix on the xbox has no issues, when PSN was up I didn’t have this issue on the PS3, nor with netflix on my PS3. Don’t have this issue with either of my laptops or iphone, only device that is having this problem is the Xbox. what gives?!
model is xbox 360 pro 20gb
I have watched two episodes of house and both of them have a weird skip (at first I thought it was part of the episode). where it rewinds 5 secs and repeats.
It says that there is no credit card required at http://www.hulu.com/plus/unlock, but when I proceed through the registration, it won’t let me complete it without adding a credit card. Is this because I used a Hulu Plus trial in the past?
[...] while also enhancing your living room entertainment experience through the power of Kinect. As Rob mentioned, you can even try Hulu Plus on Xbox LIVE at no cost between April 29 and May 6 thanks to our [...]
The Royal Wedding is tomorrow morning. We’re excited, but we feel a little disconnected from the ceremony. So we asked Hulu’s own Lauren Sozio to eliminate some of those degrees of separation and give us some reasons to watch. And we asked her to do it in her best cockney accent. She more than obliged.
You can watch the livestream of the Royal Wedding on Hulu starting at 4 a.m. ET tomorrow morning. Here’s your primer. —— Ed.
I am no Royal expert. But I can report as “someone familiar with the matter,” in so far as I once had a brush with the bride-to-be in a loo in Shepard’s Bush.
I happened to be at a variety show called Medium Rare sitting right across from Royal Rat Pack (Prince Wills, Kate, Harry, and his bird-of-the-mo’, Chelsea). Even I—the girl who’d choose Celtics playoff tickets over Manolos any day—couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the prospect of well, maybe, just maybe one of the princes (I don’t discriminate) was going to fall in love with me, and I would be inaugurated into the Royal Family.
Kate had gotten up from the table. It was all so perfect. Enter coy glance, flirty laugh, exaggerated hair flip. Man down. In my stealth attempt to capture the princes’ attention, I knocked the pitcher of Pimms into my lap, elicited a shout out from one of the performers (Bruce Airhead aka Balloon Man), and ended up in the bathroom next to Kate.
No, I did not curtsy.
So the fairy-tale didn’t go as planned and I have still not received my invitation to the reception. What’s that? You didn’t make the cut either? Join the club. Neither did Blair, Brown, or Obama. Harry barely made it into the family. But it doesn’t mean that the damn Yanks (and forgotten prime ministers) can’t still stream this English spectacle onto their mobile devices.
At 4 a.m., I’ll be awake because Greenwich Mean is already queuing up for Di and Charles 2.0. While the posh don their tails and fascinators (those frufru headpieces that resemble dead birds), I anticipate a day full of carriages, crumpets, clotted cream, champers, awkward formalities, more champers, drunken informalities, and then some wanker passed out on the manicured lawn of Buckingham Palace being prodded by an expressionless guard. Brilliant!
So why do we care? Rebecca Black gets more hits in a day than the Queen has earned in a lifetime, but yet coverage runs rampant. Will the Royals shake down Middleton? How is she affording the $8400/night apartment when the Queen can hardly afford to keep up Windsor? Which Saville Row tailor was lucky enough alter a royal hem—unless it was the Duke’s that is. Heck, even Seacrest is making recommendations for the first dance. (Ryan, just one word of advice, let Cowell handle this one).
Could it be that we are a bit nostalgic, America? Is it bank hols envy? Or is it simply the fact that media loves a good fairytale?
Meredith Vieira’s compassionate soundbytes fall mute compared to the roaring Britabloids. Daily Mail has had a Royal Wedding watch since Will popped the Q. They’ve had columns like Royal Fan Watch, which document strange and creepy fans who make collages of the supercouples out of marmite jars.
Presenters, too, are all a-tweet. Here’s British anchor Kate Garraway: “Gettin in the mood 4 the RW,” she wrote, while wearing unruly attire. Thank goodness for the Guardian’s fantastic sense of humor—an “as seen by peek” into Harry’s Facebook album of the “best stag night ever.”
This is the World Cup of weddings.
I may be an irreverent Yank, but in spite of my criticism, I am a closet Anglophile. OK, I said it. I lived there for along enough that I can get away with it. I know that football is a gentleman’s sport played by hooligans, and that snakesbites are potent pints that will put you under the table. I also know that after the egregious “Robert Green Gaffe”, we owe ‘em a little respect.
Keep in mind that “God Save The Queen” shares the tune with “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” Let’s put our pride aside for the day, salute the Union Jack and, enjoy the spectacle while it lasts.
We got a chance to talk to Laura Silverman while she was walking her poodle pomeranian, Senator, a couple of days ago. She named him Senator mostly because he’s regal and very confident. But she also named him that so she could say things like, “Senator, quit pissing on the carpet!”
And that’s exactly the kind of reason why we were excited to hear about her new project “Goodnight Burbank.” The show is being dubbed by its creator Hayden Black as the first half-hour comedy made for the Internet. Silverman—who is probably best known for her roles on “Dr. Katz,” “King of Queens,” “The Comeback,” and “The Sarah Silverman Program”—might be the best part about it.
Silverman and Black play intrepid, impossible TV reporters with an Estonian producer. It is manically quick, very funny and it premieres on Hulu today.
Here’s that conversation with Silverman while she was walking Senator. We’ve omitted sentences like, “Senator, get out of the bushes,” which is entirely too bad.
Hulu: Tell me about how you got involved in “Goodnight Burbank.”
Laura Silverman: It just sort of came about randomly, like most things happen. We were both at a show at Largo for a mutual acquaintance. (“Goodnight Burbank” creator) Hayden (Black) and I —we both sort of knew friends of friends. Anyways, we were waiting. There was so much time backstage waiting. He started talking me up about it. He’s like, “I’m writing a script for a friend of mine.”
I thought he was just another guy and it was another random meeting. I was like, “He can’t be interested in me, personally.” I thought maybe he’d just run into me and I was the closest thing to celebrity he was able to talk to. But he sounded very sincere. He was saying, “I’d love to have you play the lead. I understand if you don’t want to do that, but just take a look at it.” I love acting and I’ve been out of work. You just never know. He won me over.
So it was a totally natural thing and he won you over?
It was an organic thing, but that made me wary too. I thought, “Maybe I just got lucky.” As it turned out, I think I did. I said, “I don’t think you had me in mind, but I think this worked.”
People are lying if they don’t tell you that your first thought, when you read a script, is usually, “I’m not right for this.” Everybody’s human. I guess, if you don’t find other dimensions. So I did it, initially, just to challenge myself. I was like, “Oh, you have nothing better to do.” But then I fell in love with it.
Where did you build up all of that—let’s say—bitterness for this character? Did you go back to any shows to figure out any inspiration?
I don’t really know. If anything, I’d catch myself at times, because I’d just watch “The Comeback” (Lisa Kudrow’s post-Friends HBO series) for the first time in years. I had never played anything that was sort of like the adult in the room. I would catch myself if I though I was feeling a little bit too much like that character. Because I’ve always been, traditionally, playing a younger character. Or, as my friend called it the other day, “entering the middle period.” That’s been my hump in transitioning —I like being middle period, but it can be tricky.
Do you see yourself transitioning more to drama in the future?
I would love to. I love doing comedy and I embrace it. But I don’t think of myself as a comedic actress, so much as I just love being an actress. I don’t do the sort of things that comedians are supposed to do. I love to laugh. I’ve always wanted to do drama. So I’d love to, but I’m super happy to do whatever comes along.
We were talking a little bit about this before. Have you mastered the tricks to being in between roles yet?
So here’s my embarrassing/flattering story about unemployment. So I finally broke down. I filled out the application online. Sometimes you have to do the phone interview to prove that you’re actually unemployed enough for this. So someone calls me up one morning and says they’re from unemployment. I’m like, “Okay, cool, let’s do this. This is something you have to do.” So it’s this guy who sounds like a really young guy. “Hi, is this Laura Silverman? I just processed your unemployment claim.” And then he starts giggling. He goes, “I just wanted to call and say hi.” And I’m thinking, “Wow, customer service at unemployment is really great! They’re just calling to say hi?”
And then I realized that he just recognized my name. So I’m, like, for a half a second I’m really flattered, but then I’m mortified because it’s unemployment.
Tell me a little bit more about the show! That seems like a considerably less morbid conversation!
Hayden did an amazing job with the script. And producing it. It’s got something sort of special about it. It feels very intimate. There’s nothing sort of directed outward.
I really hope people like it. We just shot it in the weekends in the middle of the night in Burbank. It kind of snowballed. Jim Rash from “Community.” John Barrowman from “Doctor Who.”
How did so many people get involved in this?
Once you get the ball rolling, or they’d see footage or the trailer—I don’t know, really. I got Dominic (Monaghan) involved. We’ve become great friends, too. I don’t know how it happened. He loved it. He was only supposed to do one, but we brought him back for another episode.
I think there’s one, huge gap in logic in this show, though: I think you’re implying that news anchors feel feelings.
To me, the thing that’s really interesting is that it’s really hard work. People have aspirations. They want to become national anchors, or something different altogether. Unless they enjoy the local fame, then that’s one thing.
I was thinking the other day—this is part of the unemployment thing—acting, as a career: What a f***ing stupid thing to do? You’re never a doctor and go, “Why am I a doctor?” There’s only so many (acting) jobs. So you can sit there and cry and say, “All I want is to be a regular on a hit TV show. Is that so much to ask?” Yeah, it is! It really is!
So they’re probably thinking the same thing: “God, what a stupid thing to do!” How many national news anchors are there? Ten? So there’s got to be hopefulness, so that it’s still funny. But it has to be believable. I think we show how much of that sniping is for self-preservation.
It’s also a very smart show. There’s a lot of comedy right now that’s just using the argument that rich people are religious and conservative and making fun of that. It’s easy to dismiss religions and cultures. But we make fun of that structure itself, now, too.
And we shot at such weird hours. The schedule was 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., Friday to Sunday. Because everybody else had jobs. We started shooting in Burbank in the summer and it was way too hot. Then it got to be winter, so we were freezing out there. I had the flu, full-on, during the course of the episode. A lot of people had that flu. But we kept going because we just loved it so much.
Just watched the first episode of this season’s Goodnight Burbank….thought it was absolutely hysterical…very much my type of comedy…the chemistry between Hayden and Laura is great! Reminds me a little bit of a combination between 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office…Great Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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So I just signed on with hulu plus for the 1 week trial and have been browsing through it. Well like everyone else, most everything i watch is web only. Needless to say i will discontinue hulu plus at the end of my trial. Sorry hulu, its just not worth it. Come back to your customers when you really have content to offer.
So due to restrictions by content providers you cannot provide any good content on other devices and so essentially charge 7.99 for less content than would be available on a PC.
I tried Hulu plus now for a few hours and with the exception of two shows all other shows I regularly watch are web only …. i. e. this offer is totally useless and I will cancel immediately.
Keep us up to date when there is some content that is worth paying for, thanks.
Hi Daniel, thanks for posting. I understand the inconvenience this is causing you and apologize for the trouble. We certainly want to bring all the content we can to as many platforms as possible. But the rights to stream something to your computer are different from the rights to stream it to your TV, which are again different from the rights to stream it to a mobile device. Content owners are ultimately the ones who decide where their content is shown, and that sometimes means their content might only be available at Hulu.com.
We’re doing everything we can to narrow the gap between what’s only on our site and what’s available through Hulu Plus. Obtaining these additional streaming rights requires a lot of hard work, and negotiations with content owners take time. I hope this information helps!
Thanks,
Mike
Hulu Support
REALLY? “web only” …what a dissapointment.
I am staring at a tv show on my PC that Hulu will let me watch. Yet I cant watch it on my xbox? what a rip-off!!! At least netflix will let you watch stuff on either place. I would like to view shows with my family as a family… NOT stare at my laptop screen. $8.00 a month?
I would be willing to pay a little extra if that “Web Only” would be availe to my other devices.
Otherwise, I will be forced to drop paid hulu and go back to netflix.
:-(
I too was lured by the free trial (that I actually have to provide credit card info for) and have been massively disappointed. I can’t believe I’m actually expected to pay $8 a month for content with ads (just like the FREE web content) and am constantly being told that a very large portion of the content is “web only”, which frequently means I could be watching it on my computer for FREE anyway. This just screams rip-off, and fills me with disappointment. :(
Really? Web-Only. Destination Truth, You claimed to have made a deal with Syfy, but still Syfy shows are web-only, so I go to the web and I see it’s for HuluPlus only also. What gives? Why can’t you put it on the xbox then. This is nonsense, Netflix even has Destination Truth for streaming. And it’s not just that one show, SEVERAL shows, recommended shows and recently added shows are “web-only” Why show them to me on my xbox if you aren’t even going to allow me to watch it? Really grinds my gears. And I know it’s not a license thing. Stop lying to your consumers, that’s not nice at all.
Hulu has got to get with it on the “Web-Only” stuff! I mean for real, you can’t hardly buy a tv these days that doesn’t have a pc input. All we have to do is hook our laptops up to our tv’s, but that’s a drag since my xbox and roku are already hooked up. If this isn’t fixed soon im dropping HULU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I signed up for Huluplus 2 weeks ago after cancelling my cable service and spending $ money on streaming internet media players for the TVs in my house. Really dissapointed that most of my favorite programs seem to be only available on the Web. If I have to watch my programs on my PC instead of my TVs, then I guess I will cancel Huluplus as I can easily search the net from my PC for free.
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Eric (and many more),
Thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback about Hulu Plus. I completely understand some of your frustration with web-only content. Please understand that streaming media rights can be a complex issue, particularly for content that isn’t available on DVD or syndication. It is our ambition to offer all our content on TV and mobile devices. However, these negotiations take time and we appreciate your patience as we continue to improve the service.
Thanks,
Daniel
Hulu Support
I agree with everyone on this board about the “web-only” content. Its a total deal breaker. When it was first launched on xbox most of the shows I liked were available thru the xbox. however I’ve noticed lately more and more are on web only, which is really disappointing. I will most likely be cancelling my subscription in the near future due to this. Wake up Hulu, listen to your customers!
Note that Hulu has chosen not to respond to any of the criticism about web-only content because there is no reasonable response. Anything that is available on a laptop should be available on any other “mobile” device. If there is any difference in licensing between smartphones/tablets and laptops it’s only because the idiots writing these agreements wish to extract more revenue from customers by nickel and diming them on access privileges.
I signed up for the 7 day trial to use the service on my iPad. I now plan to end the subscription before the trial expires. There’s absolutely no point in a service that offers a large percentage of “web only” content that can be viewed on a laptop, yet not on other equally mobile devices such as tablets.
Why the hell am I being charged for a service I cannot really use. Everything worth a damn is web only and can be watched for free anyway with just as much advertisements.
i love it
It would also be nice if I could filter out the ‘web only’ content. Instead I have to select 20 different shows or movies before I find one I can watch.
HULU’s PROS and CONS
PROS:
They have the TV shows you like.
CONS:
They have the TV shows you like “WEB ONLY”
You’re already paying so much with Hulu+ and yet, there are still ads!
Netflix is waaaaaay better than Hulu+.
NO ADS and all the shows are available to any devices, even over 3G!
People are right in thinking this is a terrible service. Over half of my favorites are web only and there is absolutely no benefit for paying for this service. Please do not waste money and maybe Hulu will see how much they need to revamp this.
This may be one of the most useless services I’ve ever seen. I had about 6 particular shows in mind when I signed up for my week trial, and was very open minded to cancelling my Netflix account if everything with Hulu Plus checked out to be what it was ADVERTISED to be. Well, lo and behold, EVERY show I had in mind was either “web only” or just not there at all. After searching for another few minutes for some “backup” shows, which brought me the same results (or lack thereof), I cancelled immediately so I didn’t flush $7.99 down the proverbial toilet. I seriously can’t think of ONE reason someone would leave Netflix for this service, and I will be telling every Netflix user that I personally know the same thing.
Signed-up for a free trial today and the first thing i noticed was most of my favorites were web only…very disappointed with hulu plus. Tell me whats the point of hulu plus agian?
bla bla bla !!! hulu fucking sucks period…. 7.99 for web content only lololo!!!! yo huluu did u knew theres something called youtube? and its free!! lol @ Hulu ahahaha shitty service….
Hi Wesley,
Thanks for your reply. The price of Hulu Plus is based on the content and services we’re providing, not based on content or services we’re not providing. We have a lot of great content available through the Hulu Plus service, including the pricey current season content we pride ourselves on here at Hulu. We’re also providing that selection of content to a great number of devices, and providing much of it in HD.
We here think this is a great value as it is, and will continue to make it a better one.
Because television and mobile rights are separate from computer ones, we can’t just flip a switch on every show, but we’ll continue to build out the Hulu Plus service as time goes on, and feel that, for the right people, it’s a fantastic service as it is.
If you have further questions, reaching us at http://bit.ly/HuluHelp is always the most rapid way to get a hold of us.
Thanks,
James
Hulu Support
Hi Sean,
To answer your question about why we can’t have past seasons on some shows, or more than five episodes on others, it’s simply just a function of the agreements that were made. We have to come to terms with each content provider will be providing us with, how much they will be providing, and what the benefits and risks of providing that are.
Each content provider has their own things to consider, but thankfully we’ve been able to come to agreements for what we feel is a great set of content. But we’re not stopping there, we want it all. Our content acquisition team works hard every day. Recently you’ve seen the great additions of Viacom, South Park, Miramax, and the Criterion Collection and you’ll continue to see more making it a greater and greater value.
Maybe we don’t have the content you personally desire right now. Check back later and maybe we’ll have it then. Not every service is for everyone, but Hulu Plus is a great value to a great many users. Thanks for giving it a chance.
Thanks,
James
Hulu Support
CSA,
Thanks for answering some of the questions posted here but why is Hulu Plus charging if you cannot access most of your content? That does not make much sense. You get less for paying? Why dont you make Hulu Plus free until the all the rights are worked out?
Hmmm, Netflix seems to have more content than Hulu for the same price with NO ads! All the shows I want to see on Hulu are web only and there are only 5 episodes. Give me one good reason why all the seasons can’t be streamed with a paid subscription. Tell me again why I’m paying for both? I think Hulu is going to be losing my 7.99+tax each month. This is absolutely ridiculous. It’s 2011 folks, let’s get with the program!
Hi Chris and everyone else,
I’m sorry that not all content is currently available for television and mobile streaming. I know it’s frustrating when you can’t watch the content you want in the way you want to watch it. It is our goal to make all of our content available for devices, but it will take some time and cooperation before this becomes a reality. When we launched the free Hulu.com service, our rights were limited to streaming on the PC. With Hulu Plus, we are now able to offer much – but admittedly not all – of that content on PCs, tablets, phones and TVs, and in HD when available.
Unfortunately, due to content rights issues, we are not able to include all of the content you find on the free Hulu.com service on devices, so you’ll find that the content available on our website is different from that offered on the Hulu app for your iPhone, iPad or TV. Obtaining the streaming rights for these devices requires a lot of hard work and these negotiations take time.
Before we launched Hulu Plus, we wanted to be sure we had a robust offering of content available for subscribers. Today, Hulu Plus includes hundreds of shows, some of which haven’t been available online before, and full runs of many of them. The full list is available at ( http://www.hulu.com/plus/content ). Still, we understand it’s disappointing when you can’t access some of your favorite shows on devices. Please know that we are working diligently to include as much content as possible in Hulu Plus so you can enjoy more of your favorite shows where and when you want, and we’re confident the offering will improve over time.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Thanks,
James
Hulu Support
im with everyone else on this matter. i have netflix and i loved it but it sucked not being able to watch new episodes so i bought hulu plus so i could watch season 7 of the office. I decently satisfied because i got to see the hilarious episodes i missed. And then I go and try to find other shows i like and they’re all “web only” -_- once im done watching the season i will be ending my subscription until they fix this.
Probably canceling before my free week is up because of this ” web only ” shit
I have been a Hulu plus member since Sep 03, 2010 back when it was announced that plus would be on xbox. I was looking forward to watching Always sunny, In Plain Sight, Chuck, The League, Louie, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Haven and White Collar on my xbox… but to my dismay after paying for 10 months. EVERY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHOWS IS WEB ONLY?!?!?!? What am I paying for?
i like hulu plus
So the comments on this thread are 95% about the “web only” xbox issue and there is no response from hulu staff. I am also frustrated by this issue and will not pay for it for this reason. Anyone at hulu that has a pair dare post a response?
good tv
If it was not for “Web Only” I would pay for this. Will probably cancel before my free week is up.
WTF?!? Why can’t I watch The Simpsons on my 360? State your reasons!!!
As I run out of my favorite TV series through my netflix on XBOX I resort to sitting in my computer chair on watching them on the pc. I learn about hulu plus on XBOX and am estatic. I put it all my credit card information and get ready for the TV series’s to begin. All of the sudden “WEB ONLY!!!!”. I wanted to puke. What a jest get it right or pay the price hulu way to fail hardcore. Free trial then I am out. LATA!
Seriously? Even though I can stream via HDMI, I am still shocked at how useless this Xbox app is. It’s either none of the material I’m PAYING for, or none of it. All you did by offering this thoughtless half-created app was bring me up just to disappoint me.
Fix it.
Yea, have to agree with everyone else and say the “web only” content is lame. I won’t be keeping it.
Wow .. less than hour into my trial and I can’t play any of my shows, because the content is available via the web only. Why should I need to use a web browser? I’m cancelling and not giving Hulu any money because of this.
Web Only? That’s all I see on xbox. That and Buffering….I remember watching all shows and all the episodes for free. I don’t mind paying for it, But the only reason to subscribe is to watch on the xbox. Not the web. Get it together HULU or I’m walkin’ and I’m taking my friends with me. Peace Off!
I agree, I hate the Web only shows. Many of these shows are the reason I wanted to get plus to watch on Xbox live. But I can not!! Why? The quality I experience is great on my TV through live but if these shows keep stating web only I will be cancelling the service,
Hulu plus for xbox was obviously released before it was ready. The CONSTANT buffering and “network conditions have changed – 0801″ errors make it almost un-usable. The problem is definitely the hulu-xbox app, as I have no problem watching hulu on laptop or netflix on xbox.
Now that software updates can be distributed quickly and automatically, it seems like there is no longer a “beta test” period. I’m really sick and tired of being a beta tester for not-ready-for-primetime products, AND paying for the privilege. I’ll be calling Hulu support and asking them to continuing making my plus subscription free, until the product I’m purchasing actually works.
Regarding the “web-only” content: I’m sure that will be my next frustration. But seeing as how I can’t even watch the xbox-available content most of the time, it hasn’t really hit me hard yet.
This has clearly been stated dozens of times already here, and the deluge of spam comments is probably an indicator that no one here at Hulu even cares enough to read these comments, but I am so insensed about my experience with Hulu Plus that I have to comment anyway.
I’m about to go into a pretty lengthy rant, so let me preface it with this one crucial point: Hulu IS major network television. The major networks jointly own Hulu, and so the interests of major networks ARE the interests of Hulu. There can be no disputing this, even as Hulu tries to paint itself as the hip anti-establishment alternative to getting your shows directly from the networks. If you doubt this, just check the second paragraph of the Wikipedia listing for Hulu, where the joint owners of Hulu are described as NBC/Universal, Fox/Newscorp, and ABC/Disney. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulu)
Hulu Plus, as a concept, has the potential to change the way people purchase television content permanently. With the ridiculous flaws currently plagueing the system, however, it’ll be dead within a year–I have no doubt. That is, of course, unless the problems are fixed. I feel uncertain about whether they’ll be fixed, though, because I have a feeling that some of the people involved want Hulu Plus to fail. I don’t know the numbers, but I’m guessing that advertising dollars still come easier for broadcast programs than for internet programs, and that the per-second rate is higher for broadcast as well. So, my impression is that someone realized this at some point between the announcement of Hulu Plus and the launch, and decided that it would have to fail in order to keep the revenue flowing in the old, more lucrative broadcast model. It’s sad, because more foresight would reveal that after the transition from broadcast to IP in market share, the revenue opportunities in the eventually dominant IP arena will inevitably climb, and in a new, changing environment, new rules can be written, meaning that a savvy driver could steer Hulu into charging more for ad time than the individual networks can now. A major selling point, once they claimed the larger portion of the audience, would be that most broadcast viewers will be skipping commercials via DVR, while Hulu viewers won’t have that option.
Hulu, if you get your act together and fix this ridiculous web-only mess, and maybe drop the ads for at least SOME shows, you’ll have my money. I’ll stop giving my money to Charter Cable and TiVo, and just invest in Hulu and Netflix. I know you secretly don’t want me to do that, though, which is why I’ll probably be building myself a nice Ubuntu box out of an old P4 system, adding an $18 HDMI card to watch Hulu FREE and not have to give up on seeing certain shows on my HD set. If you try to keep me from using Linux, well just try to stop me from using an old XP license (because I’m not using any of those right now anyway). And hey, if you decide to arrest my web access completely (as you’ve already started to do by limited back-episodes of current seasons to Plus subscribers)–well, have you heard of ThePirateBay? Checkmate.
(As I have demonstrated a willingness to pay for the product, if prevented from doing so, I have no trouble justifying use of torrents. Do they think they’ll stop me? Peerblock.com, friends.)
When my currently prepaid six months are up, I will be cancelling. The web only content is a deal breaker for me. It is unfortunate that so many of the things I want to watch are available for free on your website, but not to those who would support your company on the device of their choice.
I agree with everyone. I am so bummed with the “WEB ONLY” crap. I’m not giving them my money. I’m buying a MacMini and getting all the shows I want. It’s a shame, it could have been revolutionary :(
The title of this article is: “Stream Your Favorite TV Shows”…only I can’t. All of MY favorite TV shows are “web only”. Every. Single. One.
I have been waiting for Hulu Plus to come to Xbox for nearly a year. I am NOT a cable TV customer. So let me share a little basic business sense with you:
Don’t promise your target market (i.e. people who won’t pay for crappy cable) something and then blatently say FU once they have paid. The basic rule is if someone likes something they will tell 7 people, and if they don’t like it they will tell 23. If that’s 23 comments on blogs, then think of how many MILLIONS of potential customers you just chased away.
Brilliant as a lump of clay.
I just signed up for the free trial. I agree with everyone else, the “web only” content is a deal breaker. Please explain why I should be a *paying* member of Hulu Plus only to receive a portion of the content.
I agree with everyone else. I was extremely excited that Xbox began streaming Hulu and I intended to sign up after the trial. However, the majority of the shows I want to watch are ‘Web-Only’. Dealbreaker
Love the app and would gladly pay for it, if it was not for all the “Web Only” videos. If i could atleast stream the same videos to the xbox or ipad as i already can online for free would be well worth it. Will occasionally check and see if you have solve this problem, until till then thanks for the free week hulu and Jack Links. (Love that Sasquatch)
I didn’t realize there were some web browser only shows, but I have been watching Hulu on my TV since I can remember (PC connection. I watched on Xbox Live for the first time last night and the picture quality is amazing. I had been waiting to sign up for Hulu+ until the Xbox app was released and based on picture quality alone, it’s worth it. I hope they figure out this web only nonsense. There are ads anyway, so why does it matter if I’m watching them on my PC or on my Xbox? Clickability?
Everything I want to watch on HULU is Web ONLY! and if I am going to pay, I do not want to see one commercial PERIOD!
The number of Web only shows ruins this experience, most of the shows I wanted to watch are not available. Not likely to pay for this, but would have paid more to have more shows available.
Comcast owns NBC. A lot of good NBC shows are web content only. Coincidence? I think not. Why would NBC (Comcast) want to take people away from T.V. Look at how many people have posted saying they don’t have cable and, only use Netflix and Hulu Plus. Less money in Comcasts pockets to make people happy? Doubt it…. I thought the FCC covered this when they said Comcast couldn’t run Hulu into the ground because it’s a direct competitor.
I agree the mob. I can’t watch most of the shows I want unless I watch them on the web. What’s the point? Im not paying for limited access. HULU plus is a very misleading name. Where is the plus or even plain hulu?
It seems everyone wants all the web only shows. This is my complaint too. I was excited that HuluPlus was going to be available on Xbox, but this completely defeats the purpose. I’m actually sad to say that I won’t be signing up after the trial period ends.
would not pay for hulu plus on xbox because of the “web only content” if im going to pay i want it all!!!! also what happens when the trial runs out will i still be able to watch tv on hulu or will the xbox app just ask for payment?
I have to chime in with everyone else. I’d been anxiously waiting for Hulu Plus to come to xbox, happy to pay the monthly fee, to get access, and to have access to newer/fresher shows than Netflix which my family currently uses.
However; the fact that so many shows are ‘web only’, not only hampers the service, it is essentially killing it for me, given that so many shows that I would be willing to pay the fee for (Simpsons for one) are ‘web only’.
Especially when there are many other ways to get those Hulu shows streamed to my xbox, in lesser-quality/wrapped presentations.
First off, thank you. I am happy to see more content brought to the Xbox platform. That said, I must agree with the lack of content issues. It is great that there are a few current shows that I am able to enjoy right now, but the vast majority of the Hulu library is web only and that sucks. I would be willing to pay $10/month for the ENTIRE Hulu library to be available through the Xbox and other assorted peripherals. And here’s why: I dumped cable. I only use Netflix streaming currently and love it. This model (and your’s Hulu) IS the future of media consumption.
If Hulu were able to open up its entire library, it would be a great facilitator to current season programs and fill in gaps that Netflix is just not able to fill. This LOWERS the entertainment costs in my household considerably, seeing as how having “basic” cable through my area’s prevalent provider is a $50 (minimum) endeavor as it is. At the $10 price point, a combo of Netflix AND Hulu plus kills traditional cable as far as I am concerned. Now if only the rest of the world saw things my way… lol.
Anyways, please bring up the amount of content on Hulu plus and will consider adding this to my monthly media expenditures. Otherwise, I will likely pay for a single month, watch all the rpograms from the current season and cancel the account for a year. Which sounds better to Hulu? A year @ $10/month or a single month @ $8?
It’s not really the commercials that bother me, but the service is really running terribly on the X Box. Its skipping here and there and the whole stream dropped. Also, the main reason I was anticipating this was to watch Community, but that is Web Only.
Yeah, there’s no way I’m paying a cent for this after my free week. 90% of what I’d want to watch isnt even available unless I go online. Nice interface, poor content. Thanks for nothing.
So, let me ask a question – I have now read that Hulu is blaming the whole “Web Only” thing on their content providers.
“Community” is on NBC. NBC owns a piece of Hulu, yes? “Community” is “Web Only”.
In case you have trouble working that out – YOU ARE THE CONTENT PROVIDER!
Don’t lie to your customer base. We plebes aren’t as dumb as you like to think. Not to mention, your greed is really starting to raise our ire.
Great that you’re getting on more devices now.. Until you get the license for all these “web only” shows fixed, it’s going to be DOA. The Simpsons? Really?
I’ll sign up again once 80% of my shows aren’t ‘Web Only’
“Web only” the more I see this the more I know I won’t go past my 7 day trial.
Once again, they started out w/ lies: it’s not a month free, it’s a week. It’s a week AFTER you give Hulu your credit card info and allow them into charge you thereafter.
Hulu hired someone to run HuluPlus and then didn’t let them run it right. He valued the service at around $4 – $5 month w/ no running ads during shows. The Old Fogey on the Board from the Cable/Satellite industry wanted to sell HuluPlus for a whopping $10 month w/ ads running like Cable TV –he wanted this because he is an Old Fool and wanted to usurp the authority of the guy hired to do the job.
A compromise was reached for $8 month w/ running ads during shows. That is an archaic and idiotic business model. Everyone under the age of 30 knows that the cable and satellite industry thinks that the public at large is too stupid and passive to know that they’re being fleeced. They have utter contempt for their own customer base. As long as you have morons like this associated w/ Hulu Plus, expect nothing innovative and new from them.
Same problem here as Zach states. I go to hulu.com/plus/unlock, and there is no place to put the code in. Hey but I’m signed up and my free preview is counting down! Not ready for prime time here? What’s the deal?
Waste of money if all the videos I want to watch are “web only”.
You had a blog in January of this year saying hulu is now on Vizio HDTVs. I have a Vizio 3D LED/LCD Internet App television and it does not get hulu nor does my vizio blue ray player with internet apps. I called vizio and they said it is hulu who has not placed it to be available on the widgets for the 3D LED/LCD televisions and they have no idea when it will be on the blue ray players. Now my question is, if you have it on some Vizio televisions by now, why not all of them?
I have been waiting for this moment on my Xbox forever! I love the interface – it is much more Netflix “y”. Compared to the interface on the PS3, I really like the way it is laid out on the Xbox. I do not accidentally back out of things like I do on the PS3.
Am I the only one having problems setting this up!? I Go to hulu.com/plus/unlock just like my xbox says and I just get caught in a loop of “learn more” links! Where do I type in my freakin activation code!?
Agreed. If this isn’t fixed during this week, my review will be it’s garbage.
its cool that i get a free week of this. but i would not pay more for this. first, you cant even watch half the shows on xbox because you only can watch it online. second, you still have to watch the stop commercials
The main problem I’m seeing is that most of the shows that I’m wanting to watch are only available via a web browser. If I’m a paid member then I should be able to watch all shows in my xbox, iphone, etc.