Digital Home Thoughts: Hulu.com Opens to Public, Offers Free Streams of Hit TV Shows, Movies and Clips

"Beginning today, consumers in the U.S. can go to Hulu.com to watch a large selection of hit TV shows, movies, clips and more in high-quality – anytime, for free. In addition, Hulu announced new content partnerships with the Warner Bros. Television Group, Lionsgate, NBA, NHL and more than 20 other top content providers. New content additions to Hulu’s library will include: feature films like The Usual Suspects and Ice Age, shows like Dirt, The Incredible Hulk, Babylon 5, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Dick Van Dyke Show, nightly highlights, top plays and full-length games from the NBA and the NHL, popular made for web programming such as Prom Queen and Onion News Network, and much more. On Hulu.com, consumers can enjoy one of the largest selections of legal, free videos from more than 50 top broadcast networks, cable networks, movie studios and web-centric content providers."

I tried HULU when the beta first started, and found the quality and selection to be pretty good. I still prefer my cable provider for watching TV however, especially since I can record a program and skip the commercials. That, I'm willing to pay for. It remains to be seen if NBC and its partners can make a successful business model out of ad-supported online video distribution. I don't think it's for everyone, but I think the market is bigger than most people are predicting.