Hulu Puts Gun To Own Head: May Require Users To Show Proof Of Pay TV Subscription
from the preserving-the-problem-to-which-they-are-the-solution dept
We’ve discussed in the past how Hulu’s owners — the major Hollywood/TV studios — absolutely hate that Hulu is actually useful and convincing people to watch TV online. Because of that, they’ve been trying to destroy Hulu. Hulu’s management — which mostly seems to understand the internet — tried to get out from under this potentially paralyzing ownership structure, but the studios (stupidly) telegraphed the message that they would block Hulu from getting their content, meaning that no one wanted to pay the ridiculous asking price.
Well, now it appears that phase one of making Hulu absolutely useless to people who might cut the cord from pay TV is going into effect, with plans to join the networks silly “TV Everywhere” setup and require users to have a pay TV subscription in order to access parts of the service. Hulu’s main (non-studio) investor, Providence Equity Partners, sold its shares last week because it heard about this plan and knew it was suicidal.
In no rational world would Hulu move in this direction on its own. Hulu’s key selling point is that it’s the go-to source for cord cutters, helping it build up a very large audience. Taking that crowd out of its audience makes it close to useless. While the studios love this because they make so much money from pay TV companies, it’s incredibly short-sighted in the long run. It’s pure protectionism of legacy revenues, done by sacrificing the one truly innovative platform they’ve invested in.
Meanwhile, along the same lines, the THResq story that we link to above also notes that NBC Universal will, once again, seek to marginalize its own online coverage of the Olympics, by also requiring proof of a pay TV service. Way to raise a giant middle finger to all the cord cutters out there — guaranteeing that they seek out alternative streams for which NBC Universal gets no money.
Filed Under: cord cutters, hollywood, pay tv, television
Companies: hulu, providence equity partners
Comments on “Hulu Puts Gun To Own Head: May Require Users To Show Proof Of Pay TV Subscription”
this title is misleading. Hulu is not putting a gun to it’s own head. Hollywood is strapping a nuke to it’s head. then they are going to complain that piracy threw a rock at the nuke and caused it to go off. this will lead to them attempting to force R&D for a time machine through congress to go back in time and pass all the laws they want 50 years ago. this will lead to an alternate time loop which the gods of the internet will deem heresy and destroy everything. which will lead to hollywood blaming the destruction of the universe on pirates and tom cruise. not sure why tom cruise. but they are going to find some way to blame it on tom cruise.
Wow. Lol gatekeepers are going to kill their industry. The more they do this the more their customers will dislike it. Wow.
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Hulu is jointly owned by various Hollywood/broadcast corporations.
(If I was a pirate)
That’s OK, there’s other much better sources for pay TV content on the internet 😉
Humm
I just canceled my Plus subscription last night after having had it on hold for over 6 months.
Hands down between Hulu and Netflix I watch Netflix 100 times more than I do Hulu. I would not miss the site if it went offline today.
All I have to say to Hollywood is evolve or die. And they are not at the top of the food chain either. Should walk softly in a world of predators who are much more capable than they are.
Gonna laugh my ass off when we as a nation finally prohibit special interest money in our elective political system. It is coming sooner than you think!
If you don’t like it then why don’t you make your own shows!
As a Cable Cutter...
As a lifelong cable cutter, If the networks take Hulu away from me, I won’t be suddenly subscribing to cable to satellite. I will simply stop watching the shows that I watched on Hulu. So long Eureka. So long Psych. So long White Collar (not that I could watch you consistently with your insane 1 episode available at a time 3 months after airing).
This will only mean less traffic to Hulu and less money to networks.
When the latest seasons of these shows are available on Netflix, I will watch them there. That is if they don’t kill of Netflix before then first.
“NBC Universal will, once again, seek to marginalize its own online coverage of the Olympics“
I think that Google should bid on “broadcasting” the Olympics. They could stream all the events in real time, plus allow you to watch any event after it occurred when it’s convenient for you.
Unlike broadcast TV, Google would only have to care about how many people watched, and not how many people watched at the same time.
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Oh, there are a number of shows that I watch that can’t be found through a tv network. So no shortage of entertainment there.
I’m starting to think the apocalypse that is supposedly coming this December might actually be caused by the TV exec’s ego reaching critical mass to implode upon itself forming a quantum singularity that will rip the planet apart… But I’m sure they’d still find some way to blame piracy for the mess.
But I watch network TV if I need to, I don’t pay a dime to a cable service.
Does this mean I’m a pirate and I didn’t even know?
These TV networks…why is it that they seem to be the ONLY industry that actively demonstrates that they DON’T want to give what the customers want? Here we have tens of thousands of people who have cut the cord (or in my case, never had a cord in the first place), who want to watch shows legally downloaded from the Internet…and told NO!
Newsflash…the market will always get what it wants. Now, if you’re smart, you’ll deliver to them what they want and figure out a way to profit from it. Actively denying customers what they demand is the quickest way to kill your business. What, don’t tell me you believe that these cord cutters will get the cord back once they hear of Hulu’s death? They won’t. I won’t. I won’t get a cord. I don’t want one. If you don’t provide to me, I’ll get it elsewhere. After all, its not my responsbility to make sure you get paid.
If only there were some way to get these shows through alternative means…
I used to download a lot of tv shows when I was in college because I had fast internet and no cable. It wasn’t bad, you download about 25 RAR files along with a few PAR files to fill in the missing gaps and bam, you have a show. I no longer do that because Netflix and Hulu have made it easier to just pony up the dough and watch it through my streaming blu-ray player.
Over time it seems the commercials have become even more intrusive from Hulu, and of course when the video stream messes up you get to watch the commercial over again. To be fair I can’t say that it’s Hulu’s fault or the box’s manufacturer.
If they go a step further and continue to limit the few shows I find interesting on Hulu then I’ll just be forced to go back to the way I used to do things. Not because of the cost (I’d pay double for Hulu if I could get more shows and no commercials btw), but rather because it’ll become simpler for me to go back to my RAR/PAR file setup.
If you suddenly charge 2-3-400% more for less quality expect to have no sales.
The sad part is that the ONLY part of the equation that any studios seem to get is that people want to watch their product. After that fact is recognized they then go the route of a dyslexic ferret in a badger hole. Go figgure.
“Providence Equity Partners, sold its shares last week because it heard about this plan and knew it was suicidal. “
I have to wonder about this statement. DO you have any specifically clear statements from PEP that they are selling because of this plan? Or are you just making stuff up again?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmCKJi3CKGE&t=2m50s
people still watch the olympics?
I am a seeker of the alternate stream for my entertainment
My cable bill is also $200 a month.
I will be looking for ways to decrease that bill in the future.
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Yeah, they are adding a slot to rabbit ear antennas that you have to put your credit card in to watch broadcast tv now.It just charges you buy the minute for receiving the signal.
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I guess the shills don’t realize how many places are doing just that. It’s weird, I’ve never said this before, but I sometimes spend my evening’s worth of TV-watching only watching Youtube things I subscribe to….or various Escapist videos and the like.
Sure, I still watch a decent amount of TV shows, but the number is MUCH smaller than a few years ago and is only shrinking.
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“In fact, the move by Hulu toward the new model ? called authentication because viewers would have to log in with their cable or satellite TV account number ? was behind the move last week by Providence Equity Partners to cash out of Hulu after five years, these sources said.”
According to the NY Post article Mike linked, so no, he’s not making stuff up.
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do you have any reasonable reason why PEP would suddenly leave right around the time that this came out? it makes sense that the simplest reason they left was this business model change. unless you want us to believe magic penguins snuck into their headquarters and sold all of their Hulu shares without them knowing.
Blaming pirates for Hollywood’s actions is a lot like blaming a woman for dressing like that.
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This is a great idea. Google can show certain events on Youtube or elsewhere, and also license out rights to various networks to show coverage as well. So ESPN might buy the rights to Swimming and Basketball, CBS takes track and field, etc.
Would never happen though, the OIC would screw it up?
A long time ago, you could receive TV programming for free over the air. How did NBC, CBS and ABC survive back then?
Proof of Pay TV Subscription sounds a lot like the big government intrusion of “Papers Please” Arizona to me.
Hulu has been going this direction for years. I have cable, but I won’t be going to the trouble of entering any information into hulu.
I also wonder how this is even legally feasible. Do cable companies give information about all their subscribers info to Hulu? Is it even legal if they do? I seem to remember something about information sharing by cable companies being illegal under one of the cable acts.
Well, if these studios want to put another nail in their own coffin, let them. There are plenty of other entertainment options out there.
Insider trading?
I don’t know the details here, but if Providence Equity Partners dumped their shares because they heard this before it was made public, wouldn’t that be insider trading?
Really?
So when you have to pay for something that someone else “made” you get upset? Do they over charge, maybe. But if you don?t like it get out of your hole & do something more physically or mentally stimulating. We as a society watch entirely too much TV anyway. I am in the business & know how demotivating TV is. Quit complaining because they would like you to pay for something you want.
Gradually Becoming Irrelevant
Hollywood, and all of the big old time gatekeepers of entertainment are gradually becoming irrelevant. Whether they like it or not people are more and more turning to the content online by independent producers. For example my two favorite programs are on Jupiter Broadcasting and they are my favorite because the similar shows broadcast by satellite slant the entire programs to favor many big parters and advertisers. While there still seems to be a little of that with the small online network, there clearly is much less and everything in the programs come across as more genuine.
Business schools 20 or 30 years from now will have excellent case studies on how the media empires all died due to their stupidity.
As a Cable Cutter...
“So long Eureka. So long Psych. So long White Collar…”
If this keep you from watching that swill then I’ve changed my mind and I’m 100% for it.
Jesus, are you also giving the finger to those scallywag pharmacies that stopped selling arsenic and asbestos nose plugs…
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yes but hulu has control of it’s own daily operations. this business model was not designed by Hulu itself. they would never agree with it if they had a choice. therefore since hulu did not willfully implement this business model, hollywood is what is attempting ot kill them.
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The TV networks own Hulu. So I guess its legal for Hulu to have that information. Complaining about that would be like complaining about Microsoft’s Windows Live team being allowed to access data of people on Xbox Live – its still the same company.
As a Cable Cutter...
“STOP LIKING THINGS I DON’T LIKE!”
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GeekAndSundry YouTube channel. Felicia Day is awesome.
What is so funny, is that tv networks and shows, movies, would make so much soooo much more money if they adapted to technology. Seriously, it’s a goldmine.
Really?
Didn’t they already get paid by the people who plaster ads all over and in every crevice of their precious minutes-long content?
How many dips are they expecting for one product?
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Like Lillyhammer? Don’t mind if I do. It certainly takes more risks than anything from basic cable TV in the last decade.
As a Cable Cutter...
So, what do you watch? No reason, just curious and all…
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Everyone knows the NY Post is a freetard rag.
Thank heaven’s for The Pirate Bay…
So typical – and they wonder why people go to P2P sites…
Hint: Because they actually ARE useful…
Wait a minute?
Why should I have to have a pay TV service? I get 3 NBC channels in beautiful HD from the antenna in my attic
Doesn’t make any sense
Free to err
It’s natural selection; leave them to them kill themselves if that’s what they want to do. The sooner the better.
I just put an antenna on my roof that gets over 20 HD channels, installed MythBuntu on an old PC, and dropped my cable tv completely. By scheduling recordings from the air, I’ll have more than enough to watch whenever I want without paying any of them any money and they’ll have to live off their advertising like in the bad old days. Oh yeah, and I can skip commercials.
Luckily for now what I’m doing is not only perfectly legal but they are mandated to provide it. Keep your eyes on the small print in those obscure bills from the back benches – we’re sure to see some concerted effort to kill free-to-air broadcast.
Really?
Hulu isn’t free. It’s not about having to pay in general it’s about the price going up by an order of magnitude.
Really?
So when you have to pay for something that someone else “made” you get upset?
Did you even read the post? This isn’t about free vs. paid. This is about killing off a useful service that lots of people are willing to pay for UNLESS you also pay a ridiculous amount for a cable/satellite TV service you don’t need.
Humm
All I have to say to Hollywood is evolve or die.
Now be fair. They try, they really do try to die.
But the piles of still-warm decaying dead bodies from the former “music industry” (look it up in your history books) keep tripping the them up during their life-end march to their final resting places in Davy Jones’ Locker.
But don’t despair. In the not-too-distant future, they’ll be exhibited in museums along with other ancient fossils and relics of primitive peoples’ abject refusal to follow the heavily sing-posted and already constructed “yellow-brick-road” to the future.
In their primitive brains, the only choice they have the “vision” to imagine is “commit suicide or die”. Their actions over the years have clearly demonstrated that.
And I couldn’t give a flying fuck.
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I know the internet might be tough for your types, but if you click on the blue words (“links”) it will take you to other “websites” and that’s where Mike got that info from.
Magic!
I mean technology!
While they destroy themselves...
While the old media continues to destroy itself I will continue to financially support truly independent media online.
When I’m not online, I read books.
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Great one, but I think Forrest Gump has the best answer to Hulu’s decision:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MT3CihStFQ
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otm4RusESNU
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You DON’T believe in the magic penguins?
Lonely?
This is stupid, but I’m sure everyone who has the cut the cord, know’s SOMEONE who will give them their account number to plug into Hulu, so the network’s think all the Hulu user’s are paying for their overpriced garbage service.
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This is because the MAFIAA have no brains nor do they think like human beings.They are lower than cockroaches in my eyes.
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+1
I could care less about the newest TV Show.I am getting rid of Hollywood little by little from my life.
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No. NBC paid $4.38 billion because they didn’t know what else to do with it.
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TV networks are not cable companies. There may be antitrust issues here too now that you mention it.
I expect this cluster fuck to go away before the lawyers get through with it.
Insider trading?
But it wouldn’t be insider if they announced that it was the reason they were dropping the shares, would it?
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Yeah! That’s exactly why I supported PoineerOne! Good point Anonymous Coward, Vodo.net can really change things.
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I believe it is a company not a piece of cloth
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I think hollywood is doing what is known as the business form of “depraved heart manslaughter”: make circumstances so impossible that the only way to get out of it is to effectively commit suicide.
As a Cable Cutter...
Ya know, I have been off cable for 5 years now. I dumped everything into having the fastest Internet connection, mostly for gaming.
Only recently did I start poking around Hulu, and went ahead and added the plus plan, along with my Netflix I have had for years. (It’s the end of the expansion for WoW, so I’m getting bored).
I have watched more ‘broadcast TV’ than I have at all in the last 5 years.
All this did was remind me how much the MAFIAA piss me off, and I will be cutting Hulu immediately.
TORRENT!
Make your own movies
I’m a medical professional. I will make my own shows if YOU will do your own colonoscopy and administer your own IVs etc.
Really?
Why did the monkey fall out of the tree?
Because it was dead.
Why did the cat fall out of the tree?
Because it was stapled to the monkey
Insider trading?
Hulu is a privately traded company and is thus not subject to insider trading laws.
Hulu
Hulu: An Evil Plot To Destroy Hulu. Enjoy.
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you pay 7$ a day to watch tv?
Are you nuts?
Insider trading?
its owned by the big studios, of course its done outside regulations.
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The money, or the Olympics?
Will miss it
I will miss it if it goes. There’s a couple shows there I follow that aren’t on Netflix. If they kick me off like this though, I know of an alternative service I can use. It’s called the “VPN torrent” network, and it’s got every show, with only occasional porn ads. You can even put your own shows up on it!
As a Cable Cutter...
Why don’t you like Eureka? Tis a perfectly fine show.
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Both!
Not as ridiculous as Fox
I recently went to the Fox Website having missed an episode of House and now to watch online you have to have a provider account. WTF is this for an OTA broadcaster? You’d think they would be happy to get in a few commercials for a show that was broadcast free to begin with. In fact, I’ve watched more commercials streaming online than I’ll ever watch since I record everything. These network clowns get dumber every day.
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Seriously! I don’t think they realize how much content is out there. Heck, look at netflix having it’s own program.
Geek and Sundry is simply fantastic.
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Business schools are in shock by media companie’s refusal to follow basic business strategy to maintain their empires over time. Many media companie’s strategy would cause them to fail a intro to remedial Econ101. The reaction to change is not a business response, but a poor human performance response of people who got used to not haveing to try and learn, fighting with all their might not to try and learn.
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Yes, a long time ago as in this morning. It is amazing how good of a picture a $10 rabbit ears antenna and a $200 budget 32″ TV can get. And, get this– I get MORE channels using the rabbit ears than I do using DirecTV!!! OTA I get two or three subchannels for each network (so I get 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 for NBC etc).
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“these sources said”
In other words, nothing from the actual people involved, just the old un-named sources.
There seems to be a lack of confirmation from either side. Hulu doesn’t comment on the move (if there was any), and the investors haven’t said anything either.
Speculation!
Let's assume
Let’s assume Hulu survives (long stretch I know, but bear with me on this).
All you end up with is a market for people who DON’T cut the cord to sell their account number to someone who just wants Hulu……….
muhahahahahaha
This announcement is Hulu's suicide note
But there’s a possible upside: here’s a chance for Netflix to undo a good chunk of the damage it inflicted on itself last year. (Step 1: look at what Hulu did. Step 2: do the opposite. Step 3: Profit?)
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If they don’t like us, why don’t they go make their own consumers!
The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
@Ima Fish
@Ima Fish
It would be so much more fun if they included an “Exclusive” rider on it… NBC wouldn’t be allowed to broadcast it on the internet. 🙂
It would be an interesting test case to show if the internet really can support a commercial model (tip to those in the know: It CAN!)
Is this strictly for free users on the Hulu website, or is Hulu Plus included in this lame brain idea? I don’t see Plus mentioned anywhere in either regard. I’d expect Hulu Plus subscribers to cancel faster than Netflix subscribers did last year after their price increase if they’re dumb enough to include that.
Besides, with all the cable/sat VOD services & DVRs, why would cable subscribers even care about Hulu? I’d go make a one-time only antenna purchase before I go back to cable.
Own Shows
Make our own shows? What like ordinary people making video? Maybe even full movies? With no gatekeepers around?
Nah, can’t happen.
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I always wonder after reading these stories who are these people beholden to. They have to be accountable to someone dont they.
Looks like it's for free users only
I’m reading on a couple locations, that this applies only to free users, and not to Hulu Plus users. This is more a push to get people to pay for the Hulu plus services, which actually isn’t that bad of a business move at all. Even IF you cut the cord on TV, paying for Hulu’s service isn’t that bad of thing, based on current pricing. Now if they use this to increase costs exponentially, that’s when you’ll see me have an issue with this.
To be honest, I don’t mind paying the $8 per month for essentially a DVR type service like this.
If I didn’t, I would buy a Digital Antennae and get the content for free, and set up my computer that’s hooked up to my TV as a DVR anyway….this is just more convenient, and I’m not opposed to paying for convenience. Isn’t that the point??
Make your own movies
how clueless
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file locker
Not as ridiculous as Fox
couldn’t believe that so I went there and those idiots really did it. You have to have an account with fox.com. Once you leap that hurdle you have to sign in again with a provider’s account number. Unbelievable.
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HBO-GO requires putting in a pay tv number.
Make your own movies
IV? No problem. I already do my own hemodialysis.
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It would be foolish and possibly actionable for a business partner/stakeholder to publicly announce “Hey, these guys are idiots and fools. Please help us unload the crap stake we have to let us salvage something from this sinking ship of failure.”
Using the restraint of an investment group who wants to continue to make money as the sign that this is a great idea would be silly.
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shiver me timbers! pirates!
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so, let me get this straight. Hollywood owns and profits from Hulu… so they:
1. alienate a good chunk of Hulus users, college students who use Hulu because they can’t afford cable
2. Those users stop using Hulu, move on to other services
3. ???
4. Profit apparently?
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In other words, nothing from the actual people involved, just the old un-named sources.
I don’t think you understand how journalism works.
Really?
But if you don?t like it get out of your hole & do something more physically or mentally stimulating.
Can do. Mike is writing posts on his blog.
Considering more & more are cutting the cable to watch online, this seems SOOO stupid. If the premium subscription services were smart, they’d allow those of us to subscribe directly so as to view/stream online. Services like HBO, Showtime, Epix, etc might gain back viewers and in turn increase their revenue stream.
Make your own movies
“IV? No problem. I already do my own hemodialysis.”
In an emergency situation while extremely sick or in a coma? I’d love to see that!
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I hope by “future” you mean tomorrow, because that is insane.
That’s $2400 a year!
That’s a video projector, a stack of blurays, and a year of Netflix, with enough money left over to go outside to see live theatre, concerts, and enjoy the rest of life.
Hulu should be destroyed, there greedy bastards! What kind of service makes you pay $7.99 to watch shows with commercials. It’s such a stupid premise and I would glad be happy when that site goes down. If they had a grave I would be the first to dance on it
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You see, this was a clever comment until you got to the “destroy the universe” part. Now I just think you’re 12.
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Anytime you’re ready, you’re welcome in our ranks. 😉
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Hollywood’s thinking is that it’ll make some consumers pay for cable. And hell, maybe it will. MAFIAA will blame the rest of us for its failings. So long as we keep killing their anit-Internet bills, fine by me.
Netflix
Er, GeekandSundry is a YouTube channel, not associated with Netflix in any way. But you’re correct, it is a fantastic channel and I am very happy for Felicia Day!
fuck hulu and hollywood. i will just download my shit via torrents and irc like i have been doing since 98. we dont need these jokers…… we just allow them to exist