Hulu is your free Tivo for NBC and Fox programs.
Yes, you can see NBA highlights and complete games, but you will want to watch anyepisode of SNL, The Office, Arrested Development, 30 Rock... and, of course, The Simpsons. My families' not so guilty pleasure is Battlestar Gallactica - On demand.
The business model? There are (happily) only a few commercial breaks and some classy sponsorship mentions. Alley Insider did a business model breakdown that determined a loss of revenue of 30%. So, have fun with this alternative-to-YouTube experiment while it lasts and as it surely evolves.
CPMs are as high as $70 according to an Alley interview with CEO Zucker.
Here is the revenue split:
- 70% to content provider (TV network)
- 20% to Hulu
- 10% to third-party distributor, if any (AOL, MySpace, etc.)