Do you Hulu? I’m a regular user of the video download service, a joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corporation. For the few out there who are still uninitiated, Hulu offers you and your computer a plethora of movies and television shows, a solid mix of archival classics and newer material. It’s instantaneous, it’s free, it’s ridiculously easy to use, its selection is increasing all the time, its picture quality is quite good, and it has only minimal interruptions by a couple of well-placed (and painlessly short) ads.
It’s been up less than four months and has already gotten tens of millions of hits. As for me, I’ve made my way through the first season of St. Elsewhere, the precursor (and in my opinion vastly superior) to ER and Grey’s Anatomy. Now I’m starting on the original Bob Newhart Show, funny as all get-out amidst the most god-awful 1970s fashion and decor one can possibly imagine.
There’s been speculation on whether two old guard media companies can play nicely in the sandbox together and make the service financially successful. There’s even been snarky commentary about the name. Now, with media coverage starting to cross into the consumer mainstream, there’s going to be a lot more noise.
Already I’m seeing an interest in raising Hulu’s cool factor and thus reaching the coveted younger demos. Thirtysomething CEO Jason Kilar has expressed the venture’s intent to bring the “Hulu experience” to portable devices. It’s offering its content on other popular sites. And the addition of Comedy Central’s crown jewels, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report joining Fox’s subversive Family Guy , as well as the ability to share and post clips, shows a more aggressive push towards younger-skewing content.
All well and good. But my advice to Hulu would be to not discount the older folks in the Hulu equation. It’s so easy to use, it’s so chock-full of classics and favorites from years past, that it can find and comfortably accommodate a very solid, very loyal audience of older users. Perhaps a special PR push designed to reach this audience is called for, or some advertising packages that fit the older demographic. Make a special effort to reach out.
Keep up the work on attracting the younger folks – they’re always going to be the focus, aren’t they – but don’t jazz up the interface or sex up the promotional tactics to the point where the original charm is lost. If the content is there for them, they will come – whatever the age group. The good news is that Hulu can appeal to everyone. There’s beauty in simplicity here.
