ABC's Player and the Hulu Juggernaut

After just two months, Hulu has become the 10th most popular video site on the internet, beating out all the major networks.  Hulu users averaged 129.3 minutes per month, smashing nearest rival ABC.com, which sees an average of 57.3 minutes per user per month.  



Now ABC, which has been among the most progressive of the networks, punches back with some shiny new player features including “full-screen viewing, closed captioning and the ability to send video links that can be embedded on blogs and social networks.”  Users will be able to “comb series offerings graphically, alphabetically, by genre or popularity.  [The new interface also includes] content recommendation technology that suggests programs based on a viewer’s choices.”

These are all positive development that give consumers all the features

of Hulu plus some; Hulu and others will surely follow suit…and quickly.  But, players shlayers.  Content, not interface, is still king, and Hulu has far-and-away the most comprehensive library of traditional television shows.  It’s extensive offerings have already created a networks affect that will continue to drive the most traffic and the best content. 



ABC is smart to continually strive to make ABC.com the premier place to view ABC content.  It can do that with technology, community, bonus videos, or even vintage programming.  Whatever developments it continues to pursue for content on its own site, the network ought to consider playing with that growing elephant in the room.