Hulu Ready To Launch Paid Service On PlayStation 3?
Will it be Sony to usher in the pay-for generation of Hulu? It's not the
most positive designation in the world to have, but given Sony's
expertise in the media realm, and just how elegant their own multi-media
store solution is on the PlayStation 3, we wouldn't really mind it. The
PS3 has been a multi-media monster from Day 1, being the only game
console to support Blu-ray, and now having the ability to stream content
from nearly anywhere thanks to the PlayOn application and Netflix
streaming support.
So Hulu seems like a natural next step. We have been hearing rumors for months on end that Hulu was considering a subscription based service for premium content and archived content, but rather than just start charging on Hulu.com, it seems that the company may launch via an avenue that people will be more willing to pay through: the PS3.
A new Bloomberg report suggests that the Hulu/Sony partnership "could be announced as soon as next week," with "PlayStation 3 owners registered on the console's
web service able to subscribe to a planned Hulu pay service for on-demand access to current prime-time television shows." Neither company is commenting right now, but these kind of reports aren't usually too far from the truth. Once Hulu hits the PS3, it should be just a matter of time before it's available elsewhere. We'll be sad to see the all-free Hulu go away (though some free aspects should remain), but we're most interested in seeing if a paid version of Hulu will make it onto Boxee and any of Apple's own devices.
So Hulu seems like a natural next step. We have been hearing rumors for months on end that Hulu was considering a subscription based service for premium content and archived content, but rather than just start charging on Hulu.com, it seems that the company may launch via an avenue that people will be more willing to pay through: the PS3.
A new Bloomberg report suggests that the Hulu/Sony partnership "could be announced as soon as next week," with "PlayStation 3 owners registered on the console's
web service able to subscribe to a planned Hulu pay service for on-demand access to current prime-time television shows." Neither company is commenting right now, but these kind of reports aren't usually too far from the truth. Once Hulu hits the PS3, it should be just a matter of time before it's available elsewhere. We'll be sad to see the all-free Hulu go away (though some free aspects should remain), but we're most interested in seeing if a paid version of Hulu will make it onto Boxee and any of Apple's own devices.
