Hulu Considers Selling Itself
Will be very interested to see how this develops. Hulu’s success is so dependent on the relationships with content providers that it makes you wonder who would even want to buy it.
Hulu is considering selling itself after being approached with a buyout offer, according to tweets from CNBC and WSJ reporters.
Julia Boorstin at CNBC says the offer did not come from Google, but doesn’t say who the offer did come from.
Hulu just launched a viral advertising campaign for Judd Apataw’s upcoming film, ‘Funny People.’ Above is one of the clips from this faux-tv show ‘Yo Teach,’ and you can click here for more on the Hulu show page.
The idea behind this is great, but I still think this falls short (a) because it isn’t funny, and (b) because there’s not a real connection to the movie. Granted, users can find out about the connection by reading the comments under the videos, but who reads those anyway?
That said, I that companies are experimenting with creative ways to reach consumers, and leveraging new media like Hulu makes it even more exciting!
Buzz in the Biz: 2.17.09
Ang Lee to Direct “Life of Pi” [Read Article]
I’m extremely excited to see the translation to film, here. Ang Lee has definitely made some winners in the past, so I’m sure he’ll be able to preserve the “Life of Pi’s” message (and its twist). That said, it’s going to be interesting to see how this translates to film. It’s a story built around a boy’s imagination, but there has to be a way to do this without it looking childish…
Polanski Must Return to the States for Dismissal [Read Article]
I’m sure he must have expected this. He’d be a fool to return to the United States after all this time, especially considering his advanced age. France is a beautiful place to live, and being a fugitive hasn’t prevented him from directing Oscar-winning films like “The Pianist.” Who knew being on the run could be so glamorous?
“Dollhouse” Disaster [Read Article]
Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” premier was a big flop last Friday - only 4.7 million people watched the show. Pretty miserable showing, as the industry standard is a show needs at least 5 million viewers on Broadcast TV in order to avoid cancellation.
I watched the premier the other day with Tina, Jose, and Maria, and while I wasn’t impressed by the storyline, I was even less impressed by the format - scripted, serialized television. It’s a tired model that only works for ambitious epics like Heroes, House, NCIS, and the like. Otherwise, TV need have immediacy in order to be relevant. I think it’s success on Hulu and iTunes is evidence of the fact that people would rather watch shows like this at their convenience.
