err0r Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Following a near year-long stalemate, Viacom (News - Alert) and online video service Hulu are playing nice again. The media conglomerate announced late Wednesday that the two parties have agreed to a deal that will allow Hulu (News - Alert) to stream a number of Viacom-owned programs, including those broadcasted on Comedy Central, MTV and BET (News - Alert). The accord was struck 11 months after Viacom pulled "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" from Hulu due to a very public dispute over programming fees. Under the new agreement, Hulu users will again have free access to both Comedy shows the day after they air. Other Viacom-controlled content, such as MTV's Jersey Shore, TV Land's Hot in Cleveland and Spike TV's Manswers, will be included in Hulu's new $7.99-per-month subscription service, known as Hulu Plus. However, these shows won't be available until 21 days after they initially air. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman told the Wall Street Journal that the company decided to renew its partnership with Hulu because the new revenue model is much more palatable. "We're going to be getting both ad revenues and subscription fees," Dauman said. "That's the kind of model that has worked well in the traditional universe, and one that we think is a positive trend in broadband." He added that the 21-day hold on the majority of programming enables Viacom to continue its relationship with cable and satellite providers, which provide the company with the majority of its revenue. "It doesn't interfere with the way we distribute our networks on television," he told the Journal. For Hulu, the deal allows it to enhance its premium subscription offering to better compete with other streaming services like Netflix. The company rolled out Hulu Plus in June of last year, but was forced to drop the price by $2.00 per month in November after experiencing only moderate success. Netflix, on the other hand, has increased its prices in that period. Source: Beecher Tuttle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Travis Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 I prefer watching the daily show on its own website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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