You still can't access Hulu, the popular and free on-demand streaming TV and movie service, from a PlayStation 3. Hulu mysteriously started blocking PlayStation 3s from accessing content and the company has yet to address the issue, leading to endless speculation on the site's motives. Around that time, I submitted a complaint to Hulu's customer service, innocently asking why my PlayStation 3 couldn't access Hulu.
It's taken a while, but someone at Hulu customer service -- named "Rob" -- finally got back to me. The otherwise nameless Rob provided a lengthy explanation for the situation Hulu's in without directly addressing the issue regarding blocking PlayStation 3 consoles. In summation, the PlayStation 3 problem appears to be linked to a legal issue with a Hulu content provider.
"Everything we do is with an eye toward achieving our long-term goal of maximizing the content you can access as conveniently as possible in a way that 'works' for the content owner," reads the response I received from customer service. "In the short-term that may require us to make some tough decisions, but we only do so when we believe it improves our long-term prospects to build a more enduring, legal solution to that same problem."
This comment is prefaced with a long explanation the distribution models for television and movies (i.e. a movie starting in the theater, transitioning DVD and pay-per-view and eventually hitting pay-cable channels). I honestly have no idea why Hulu's customer service department believes someone who's looking for technical help would need to know these background details (again, this wasn't submitted as a media request), unless he figured out I'm a reporter.
"Distribution availability across platforms -- theaters vs. TV vs. recorded media like DVDs vs. online streaming vs. mobile phones -- was always implicitly or explicitly controlled in that world," continues the explanation. "But a few factors have made the barriers between those platforms more permeable: the rise of the web, increased broadband availability, the ease of digitizing video, and the increase in the computing power of devices like gaming consoles, set-top boxes, and mobile phones."
"However, in the near-term," says Hulu, "the windowing strategy is still dominant in the business. Billions of dollars flow in across these different windows, and entire companies are organized around them. Nothing productive comes from flouting that reality (except to law firms who work on the occasional lawsuit)."
At no point does Hulu ever really address my problem: why my PlayStation 3 can't stream episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia anymore. But if this issue is a legal hook related to a content partner of Hulu, as the response implies, maybe it won't be disappearing anytime soon.
"We hear your frustration, and solving it remains our full-time job," concludes the note from Hulu.
Comments
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cmdluke
so did you write him back and explain that this response doesn't address your question at all? thats what I do when CS reps skirt an issue i'm having.
Tommytsunami
its probably an automatic response because it seems like he was avoiding giving you a real explanation on why hulu cant be used on the ps3
EntropyMu
It's Sony. I've thought that it won't last long since I figured out you can watch movies on Hulu on the PS3.
Why on earth would they let you watch movies and shows for free with minimal advertising when you can overpay for them directly through the PS store?
snake8
that's BS, I think if they wanted to they would fix this problem and we would be all fine. But to be perfectly honest I think they don't want to have their content on the Ps3. Reasons for doing this who knows. Do you all agree?
IcemanMX
Wow. That guy "Rob" should run for office. He already sounds like a politician.
I think I'm going to side with EntropyMu's answer for this one. If the PSN sells a lot of popular TV show episodes and movie rentals, why would they shoot themselves in the foot by allowing users to access (some of) that content for free via Hulu? Luckily, as with all software, there is always a way around this, though.
-M
Wozman23
That post hurt to read. I think you just got "Robbed".
SlickyFats
Wow this is exactly what AT&T did to me when I e-mailed them asking why no one could post reviews for the iPhone on their website. Just throw a bunch of useless info at you and hope you get frustrated and go away without having to have any questions answered.
Sterling McGarvey
My 2 cents as a PS3 owner (who uses PlayOn, not as a reviews/previews guy who works for G4): I don't think this has anything to do with Sony and everything to do with one of Hulu's many business partners figuring out that people can use the console web browser.
I think that the major TV networks are doing everything within their power to prevent anyone from using Hulu on their TVs, since I'm sure it fudges up ad revenue.
kikook ShowHide
Hulu is trash compared to Youtube, as long as it's still going then that's not a problem. But why do we really care anyway? I doubt many actually use the Internet Browser on the PS3 often.
M_AVILA346 ShowHide
eogfrejayfduosip
Raverenz51
kikook; Hulu has full episodes of shows and some movies on it, unlike Youtube which isn't allowed to have full episodes of shows, its just clips ect.
lookatthisguy
Isn't it obvious? Sony is hip to the fact that Hulu is an umbrella corporation meant to turn our brains into that soupy stuff that ice cream becomes after it melts, so that aliens from faraway planets can eat our brains (and then who knows what else?)
Hulu must have some secrets in their feeds that Sony can use against them (like on the blockbuster smash hit "The Arrival" starring Charlie Sheen). Huzzah and kudos to Sony for saving our vapid, futile lives.
((Can't believe no one said that yet. I thought it was an easy one.))
larstron
Patrick - I would guess the issue has to do with the language that goes into the deals between content providers and their affiliates (for instance, cable systems). Many of these deals involve astronomical amounts of money being paid to content providers by affiliates and are set for between 5 and 10 years at a time (which is an eternity, considering the rapid change in digital distribution markets). Many of these deals include language that the content providers not make their content available online, using phrases like "excessive streaming."
These sorts of phrases are obviously prone to issues of interpretation, and the way that people on the different sides of these agreements interpret these kinds of phrases is going to be a bigger and bigger bone of contention over the next few years. On one side, content providers would generally love to have their content available on services like Hulu because it expands the number of platforms upon which they can monetize their product, but service providers (like big cable systems) only want that content to be available on their own services. Given that content providers make up to 50% of their money from these deals with affiliates (the other half comes from other sources of revenue, including ad sales), their livelihood is tied to the service providers' interpretation of this phrase.
My guess is that the negotiations over what the phrase "excessive streaming" means has over the past couple of years rested at "not streaming full episodes onto people's televisions," and somebody at either one of the cable systems or a lobbying group representing owners of broadcast TV affiliates realized that the PS3 is able to stream full shows to televisions through Hulu. If cable systems or broadcast affiliates threatened their content providers with legal action, then content providers in turn probably told Hulu to block PS3's from the service (which isn't that big a hit, since PS3's probably make up an insignificant portion of the devices that connect to Hulu).
So, long story short, I would guess that it's not a question of advertisers being pissed off (since advertisers can buy time on Hulu and continue to get in front of their audience if, in the long term, services like Hulu represent the future of television watching), it's a problem of the affiliates that content providers make deals with being pissed off, from local stations (for networks) to cable systems (for cable channels).
gameweasel
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Content owners don't want you to watch their properties on a TV. They make dvds, and sell the broadcast rights to tv channels, so you can watch on your tv. Watching stuff on Hulu is free, but not as convinient as getting it on your tv, and if you want that convinience then they figure you have to pay.
ERN_DIZ
i own a ps3, and i dont see why we care about this, hulu sucks, YT all the way
squarewannabe
I own a Playstation 3 and I actually enjoyed watching Hulu videos on my TV through it. It was much more convenient than having to hook up a PC or laptop to my TV
abelpc
I still watch Hulu on my PS3 with media streaming software. I hardly use the built-in browser for the PS3 anyways.
Syzgu
I doubt it has to do with the content owners not wanting it on your TV because of dvds and etc, more and more TVs now can be hooked up to your computer through HDMI. I
Infamous_Bizarro
i stream from my computer to my ps3 using Tversity
so yeah I still win in my situation. hulu or not. there other services you know.
if you know the right stuff, you'll think Hulu is not as good but Hulu is good though. but there are others.
deline
To bad i dont gat Hulu because i am from canada. Also i use cable and youtube and other services like dvd, vhs and ect.
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