Well, the rumors proved to be true and ABC has joined forces with Hulu.
Reportedly Disney now owns 27% of the popular video sharing site, putting them on equal footing with News Corp (Fox) and NBC. This means that shows such as Desperate Housewives, LOST, Grey’s Anatomy and more will now appear on Hulu as opposed to on ABC’s own website as they did in the past. They will also be adding to the archives with shows from Disney Family, SOAPnet and other classic Disney properties. In a bit of a surprising move, they will also be adding daily shows such as General Hospital and The View to the fold, but no word on how long those episodes will be available for after they air.
This leaves CBS as the last stand-alone network of the major four with its own site, TV.com. It seems inevitable now that they will have to throw in with Hulu at some point as it will become even more of a destination site for people wanting to catch their favorite TV shows online. Is it a good idea? For the consumers, yes, for the networks, I’m not so sure yet. They are giving up a bit of their onw brand identity this way, but if they’re happy, then who’s to stop them?
