YouTube + Hulu

Some action this week.

YouTube wiped some sweat off it’s brow, with a ruling in US District Court denying punitive damages in Viacom’s infringement suit.

Also this week, YT bumped up video quality, killed the YT watermark, and announced an expanded API to begin to position itself as a video distribution and services platform. No word yet on YouTube HD.

Hulu finally went live with some new content partners, including the NFL, NHL, Warner Bros. TV division, movies from Lionsgate, and web-originating content like Wine Library TV. Complete list of Hulu partners at NewTeeVee.

After playing with the beta, I was pleasantly surprised with the user experience. The ads are a little obtrusive, but the player has some really slick features—for example, the ability to play the video in a separate pop-up while maintaining the current viewing/playhead position. Video quality is good, but a little disappointing I think, given the high-profile nature of the project. The content library is a little light, but I can see this as an excellent way to distribute/aggregate obscure, old, Long Tail content from partner’s libraries. I haven’t confirmed, but it appears the site is hobbleware—restricted to the US only. This reeks of Old Media.

I think it’s going to take some really creative thinking for Hulu to be a success. The most profound hurdle is the owner’s inherent conflict(s) of interest in providing exclusive content. Why give Hulu a cut when you can create/utilize your own web properties? Silicon Valley Reporter has some good analysis: Hulu Launches: Great Product, Still Screwed and Why CBS Keeps Dissing Hulu—And Why This Reveals Hulu’s Achilles Heel. The numbers don’t look too promising.

RELATED: Bob Iger, Disney CEO: Computer Replacing TV as Primary Entertainment Source