Google Goes Big With Its Hulu Bid | Hacker News Reader

Google Goes Big With Its Hulu Bid

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90 pointstaylorbuley21 comments

Google's mystery bid undoubtedly has to do with the content rights and the length of time associated with those rights.

Of the proposed suitors, Dish is the only one with any power to realistically do any sort of negotiation on the content rights since they can bundle Hulu into their carriage agreements they make with their content partners.

Google's smart enough to realize that they would need to get something like a 5-10 year window on the rights to content for this to make sense. They need the demand for IPTV streaming to really catch up, where if Hulu shuts down the networks would feel some consumer pain. Right now if Hulu closed its doors Fox/ABC et al, would barely notice.

But if Google is successful, you might be extremely close to Google being able to complete a full IP delivered ala carte "cable system" and that would change the game completely. Their biggest issue here is that they'll be doing it over their competitors pipes since cable is the primary broadband mechanism. The real final piece to the puzzle would be rolling out some sort of Google broadband via wifi/fibre etc all the way to the home.

>The real final piece to the puzzle would be rolling out some sort of Google broadband via wifi/fibre etc all the way to the home.

Already in the works: http://www.fiberforcommunities.com/

I can think of a couple other things Google would want in addition to longer license terms.

1) A license to stream for free to any device. No more differentiating between a computer, a set top box, and a mobile device. No more Hulu Plus to use the Android app to watch what you could see from a PC for free. Just like how Time Warner was blocked from streaming TV content to an iPad app, Hulu has restrictions around streaming content to anything but a computer.

2) Licenses in international markets. Hulu is primarily in the United States only. Google wants to take all its properties international so it probably wants something in writing up front this will be an option.

If Google is asking for anything close to the above it's understandable why it's separated out from the other bidders and why Google felt it needed to throw down serious money to get everyone's attention. Media companies just don't sell broad rights to one buyer because that eliminates most of the bidders and puts the seller at a disadvantage. These kinds of requests go against the very nature of modern content licensing. Everything is supposed to be divided up as much as possible and sold piecemeal to the highest bidder.

I suspect there is a problem where different bidders appeal to different owners of the Hulu venture. Some will appeal to the Starz argument and prefer Dish. Some will prefer Amazon, who will probably bid the most under Hulu's terms and already has close ties to Hulu's executive team. Some might entertain Google's bid, although it would have to be ridiculously lucrative. Like Skype, what were they thinking lucrative. Usually Google walks away when someone asks for "too much." Whoever prefers Yahoo is a loony. I'd guess Yahoo is only kept in the bidding to keep Amazon and Dish honest.

As far as I understand, 2) isn't possible. Its a mess. Every country has different contracts and right holders for all this intelectual property.

The big question is: what are Google's intentions and when does their "spring cleaning" come to their content infrastructure? Right now it's a mess.

Google Music lives under Andy Rubin, while the actual music deals they have in place live under Salar at YouTube, 3/4 of which are in a JV arrangement with Vevo through Universal.

Google has arguably the best ability to combine editorial content and advertising with a deep level of personalization, but they are so fragmented in terms of this focus, especially around the Android/YouTube groups its ridiculous. They also are burdened on the music side with deals that are very inverse. Bad for both sides.

I hope if Hulu comes to pass they streamline their strategy around content, platforms for the content and advertising sold against it.

Hmm, add Hulu to the formidable resources coming from Motorola Mobility's Home division (that is one of the largest cable box suppliers in the US and also has IPTV holdings in Europe, e.g. Kreatel) and you can see that Google is positioning itself aggressively in the coming TV war with Apple TV.

IMO, Dish is the best place for Hulu. They're already launching the Netflix competitor.

I see Dish' bid as them adapting as a business to consumer wants/needs.

One could see why they're willing to pony up lots of cash - the combination of Hulu content served by an omnipresent Google TV and paid for with Google ads sounds great.

And the Google TV would be manufactured by Motorola, no less!

What omnipresent Google TV?

It seems like the future of streaming content is really up in the air right now. As someone that has been downloading videos for over a decade, I was surprised by the lack of attention HBO got when they aired the upcoming episode of entourage a week early exclusively on HBO Go. It made me create my Go account and I do like the service.

Even with Hulu, onDemand, and Netflix I still find myself downloading files. I hope someday someone gets this right and I can purchase episodes(full seasons) early as well as watch any season from any show. Because I would pay double for that.

I think the lack of attention comes from a lack of interest. Who really cares when something airs nowadays, especially in the case of streaming content?

No offense intended, but I think you may be in the minority.

"Who really cares when something airs nowadays, especially in the case of streaming content?"

Quite a few people.

I think you're confusing what day/time a show is on with the premiere date of a show. People care a lot less about the former, but a lot of people still tune into a show the first time it comes out and talk about it the next day. This is the first time (of a large show) that a premiere occurred online before it was ever seen on TV.

Right, TV Ratings are based on viewers during episode premiere dates. Not on how many streamed the show.

Besides, my point was that I was able to stream the new entourage and I think thats a great idea to get people to sign up for their new service.

I wonder how that humble pie tastes for Google, after the Clown Co comments[1] when Hulu was formed? Still - I'll give them credit for admitting when they were wrong.

[1] http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/23/what-we-know-so-far-about-n...

[2] http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/22/confirmed-tv-networks-launc...

Hmm, so how much would it cost to buy a whole studio?

Interesting, the article doesn't really mention Google's motivation for the bid, but I'm guessing it would just be to lock down the rights to some of the media associated with Hulu? If exclusivity was part of the deal, maybe their intention is to use that content to kick start the premium offerings on Youtube?

I don't think it's for a premium Youtube. I think it's to bolster their Google plus offering. Watching hulu shows live with friends across the world could be something to set them apart from Facebook. Right now Facebook's model is based on "sharing" what you've already done (I watched a show on Hulu). Google can one-up that by making it truly social (you're watching a show with your friends).

It depends how committed they are to Google plus. If they want to give themselves a (another?) significant differentiator from other social networks, acquiring Hulu could do that.

I would consider that a significant feature. Something that would hook many new users, a large hard to remove hook to boot.

They would be insane to buy a whole stack of premium video content and not tie it into YouTube at all. The idea of watching a TV show with someone on Google Plus strikes me as... kind of awful. Maybe that's just me.

It's certainly not for everyone. One of the big selling points of google plus is being able to do things with friends. The goal seems to be to add an additional level of "social" to their social network. They're doing that through games and youtube video. Hulu video seems like a natural extension of that. It won't appeal to everyone (nothing does), but it will to some.

Better sharing settings (through circles) and better social features (watch videos or play pokers with friends) could be a recipe for success.

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