Hulu Losing 'Daily Show' ... More to Come?

I'm a big fan of Hulu. When I was working nights, it was better than DVR for me. It offers quality video with very little commercials. But one of my favorite shows to watch on Hulu is going away.


Viacom is spliting with Hulu ... meaning "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and other Comedy Central programs will be removed from the site next week (including "The Colbert Report").


"Daily Show" is listed as one of the five most watched shows on Hulu.com. So why the split? From what I can tell from various news reports, Viacom and Hulu couldn't settle on a price. (It sounds like Viacom wanted more money ... and Hulu didn't want to give it to them).

Hulu has exploded over the last three years since it went live ... offering full-epsisodes of TV's biggest shows (also offers movie choices). In fact, more and more people are flocking to Hulu. Last September, the site had more than 508 million viewers ... 1.01 BILLION in December!

The New York Times summed up the whole fiasco, "The decision also highlights the large gulf between the expectations of consumers — who demand a wealth of free and easily accessible content on the Internet — and the media companies, who are seeking a more profitable business model online."

Hulu admits they are vulnerable: “... {the} concept of being the ultimate destination for TV shows only works if they can get the content — and the media companies will never let the balance of power over their content shift to a third party.”