NBC's iTunes Alternative Launches Private Beta
NBC and Universal's joint venture Hulu.com has launched in private beta. The new video service will feature premium video content delivered over a Flash-based web interface, and is already being syndicated to sites such as video.aol.com. First impressions have been positive, and Hulu allows you to embed content into other websites. As a private beta, access to the site appears to be limited, but the embedded player allows you to browse other content.
At present it appears the content is ad-supported, with very short ads playing at designated times during playback. Ads are noted on the timeline as small dots.
An entire episode of The Office is embedded below, but the player reportedly does not work outside the U.S:
In August, NBC pulled their television content from the iTunes store due to disagreements in pricing structure.
At present it appears the content is ad-supported, with very short ads playing at designated times during playback. Ads are noted on the timeline as small dots.
An entire episode of The Office is embedded below, but the player reportedly does not work outside the U.S:
In August, NBC pulled their television content from the iTunes store due to disagreements in pricing structure.
Top Rated Comments
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56 months ago
It will be interesting to see how acceptance for ad-supported viewing goes. The more models there are out there for consumers to choose amongst, the better.
56 months ago
Does this thing cost money. I f it does, its not as good as iTunes, because it can't be on an iPod!!
56 months ago
the ads are very short and pretty unobstrusive. Obviosuly, the big limitation is you can't watch it on your iPod or whatever.
It appears to be ad-supported (ie. free)
arn
Does this thing cost money. I f it does, its not as good as iTunes, because it can't be on an iPod!!
It appears to be ad-supported (ie. free)
arn
56 months ago
I can confirm it doesn't work outside the US, well it doesn't in the UK anyway, screenshot below...
56 months ago
the ads are very short and pretty unobstrusive. Obviosuly, the big limitation is you can't watch it on your iPod or whatever.
arn
doesnt work in Canada at all! stupid iP!
56 months ago
The player seems to run much better than NBC's own site. My interest has increased to discover more about this.
56 months ago
Ads on nbc.com episode videos are extremely annoying, and the video player takes up a ton of CPU. If this player is not an improvement, most will continue to just pirate higher res, ad-free versions that are freely available.
56 months ago
Now all we need is Flash support on the iPhone so we can watch these on the go.
Oh, wait, that'll probably not be high on Apple's to-do list now.
Oh, wait, that'll probably not be high on Apple's to-do list now.
56 months ago
I love the Office, and since I haven't been at home for the last 2 episodes, I've been having to watch it on NBC.com, for free. Unfortunately, the whole experience is terrible, and I'd give anything to get episodes back for a mere $2. The whole NBC online interface is clunky, the same ads play constantly, and it's just a worse product. Bring it back to iTunes NBC, I'm no longer going onto your ***tty site.
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