Have you noticed the content at Hulu has been getting bigger and better over the summer? I did, and today Hulu is rolling out a few new features as it looks to increase its toehold in the online video market. The new features include improved navigation, search and user interaction (aka social networking). The best new feature is Hulu's "Channels" drop-down menu, which improves its previous genre categorization.
In the old model, Hulu users could find content by genre but were forced to search separately for TV comedy or film comedy, for example. Now, Hulu has mashed it all together into one big category. You can use Hulu's familiar menu on the left-hand side to drill down into films, TV episodes, clips, and so on. Hulu is also touting its "anime" channel and a new "Web originals" for Web-only content. Channels are designed not only for users but also for advertisers as Hulu looks to increase its market share. Today only one channel, "Food and Leisure," has a sponsor, but it's safe to assume Hulu is looking to get as much sponsorship as it can across the site.
Other new features on Hulu include an actor-based search and new discussion boards that are available on every video page. Whether discussion boards become a popular part of Hulu remains to be seen, but it's part of the community-building effort. Hulu allows users to create profiles as well, and choose whether they want to make their viewing habits public. Yet another Website looking for that holy grail of social networking. I don't know about you, but I, for one, am more interested in viewing the content than discussing it with strangers, but that's just me.
The online video market is heating up these days. Amazon improved its online movie rental experience this summer; iTunes is always popular, of course; Joost (another free video site) is making a grab for some market share; and Netflix recently announced it will stream current CBS and Disney TV shows this fall. On top of that, virtually every network makes recent episodes of popular programming available for a limited time. Hulu has some stiff competition--some of it coming from its own parents News Corp. and NBC Universal--but with an expanding library and the ability to host current programming, Hulu's popularity should grow even more over time. For now, Hulu remains a U.S.-only service, but the company says it is working to bring Hulu to international audiences.
