Everyone knows about Hulu right? It recently pulled into the third spot for most popular streaming video sites. Disney’s adding its ABC and Disney Channel offerrings soon. Suffice to say, it’s awesome.
Wired just published an article asking if the site is becoming a victim of its own success. As evidence it presents the fact that in January FX removed most of its library of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes from the site, replacing them with just a few at a time that rotate each week. According to Wired, this and the sensational reactions of Hulu forum users may represent the “canary in the server farm.”
Yeah, okay, except that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was always a complete outlier in publishing nearly its entire show on Hulu. No other currently running show does that. Is Hulu in danger because The Office, 30 Rock and House only have five episodes a piece? I don’t think so. This is the balance that’s been struck from the outset between new media needs while still protecting broadcasting obligations. It’s nothing new at all. Is Hulu the Internet streaming utopia we’d all like it to be? No, but it’s still a fantastic way to keep up with a lot of television’s offerrings without needing to sit in front of your TV at a certain time or pay for a Tivo.
If shows start disappearing from Hulu altogether, now that’s a story, but the exact opposite is happening. More and more shows are being added. The move to treating It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia like every other show is a non-story at best. Having more episodes was always a gift, not the standard.
