I don’t watch very much TV. I just forget to do it, even if there’s a show I know I might like. Now, don’t think I’m some self-righteous anti-TV do-gooder, because I’m not. I love me some TV! Give me my stories! Make me laugh! Show me a gross autopsy! I want my Cyclons!

We recently discovered a wonderful little online service called Hulu that satisfies the need for some brain-dead TV story time, but doesn’t require a Tivo, fancy cable subscriptions, or remembering what shows are on which stations. Hulu hosts streaming video of various TV shows and movies, sponsored with limited interruptions by advertisers. That’s right, only 3-4 30-second ads in the middle of  shows. I love Hulu! New shows are being added all the time, so this is like iTunes in the early days; soon, everything will be on Hulu. While the video fidelity isn’t the greatest, it’s not bad for free TV streamed to your computer. Just launch the show full-screen, put your monitor or laptop a few feet away, and enjoy your new free-vee.

And did I mention the limited interruptions? So awesome. After three years of only watching shows on DVD or from iTunes without ads, returning to shows with ads is pretty painful. Since I’m not likely to want the advertised service/product/lifestyle/medication, I’d rather have fewer ads or none at all. With DVDs and iTunes, I pay for that luxury directly. But with Hulu, I get a nice balance and it’s all free. Free! You don’t even need to sign up for an account unless you want to watch R-rated movies, so they’re not even getting demographic data from this most of the time.

So catch up on 30 Rock or Bones, watch classic A-Team episodes, curl up with a movie, and do it all for free through Hulu. Think about how shifting the focus of advertising dollars affects your enjoyment of the show. Perhaps this is a new model for patronage? Perhaps this means television entertainment will get better?

Tagged as change, storytelling, television, Using technology + Categorized as Inspiration, Being entertained, Ideas & Theories, Using technology