Abstract

The case describes the efforts of two media companies, Fox Broadcasting Company and NBC Universal, to monetize online video content and compete with YouTube, through their own website, Hulu.com (Hulu). Hulu was launched in March 2008, with a business model where revenues were generated thorough advertisements placed in the videos on the site, like in conventional TV broadcasting. The case describes the unique features of the website and also compares and contrasts the approaches to video over the Internet followed by Hulu and YouTube. The case also discusses the reasons why Hulu broke two of its content distribution partnerships, in February 2009, and briefly touches on its future business outlook and the challenges it faces.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate the different business models adopted by two online video websites.
• Assess which of the business models is more likely to succeed over time.

Keywords

Hulu.com, YouTube, Business models, Online video destination sites, Fox Broadcasting Company, NBC Universal, Content distribution partnerships, Streaming content, TV.com, Boxee.tv, Monetizing content, Competitive advantage