As has been stated above, the only way I'd pay for HULU is if the ads were removed. But being greedy bastards (as most media types are) they'll want to have their cake and eat it too. Morons.
For Hulu to have a monthly fee, they better up their quality and content. 480p streams and only portions of a season is not worth $$$, hell its barely worth sitting through the ads right now as it is. For a fee, I would expect more access to content, newer movies, higher quality, and simultaneous releases for a show on the day it airs.
"But that may change if Comcast wins its bid to purchase a majority interest in NBC Universal."
As for Comcast, How I feel about that great company..............
Ahh so they get us hooked and then start charging big suprise.
Unless they start offering full seasons much like netflix instant viewing we will find other ways to catch up on our shows. Hulu works great to centralize network tv reruns. It eliminates the need for the variety of propriety software that range from Good but annoying (ABC) to Terrible (ABC FAMILY and TBS).
Much more value must be added to the service if they plan to charge for it.
I should also add that Hulu needs to improve their buffering system... (netflix has this down to a science and hardly ever has issues, but sometimes hulu can get buffer freeze. Additionally quality of the videos must improve.
In the short term to make it up to spec with competing services it will be very expensive.
If you use Pandora, a music streaming service, you'll note that they have both a free service, and a pay service. Pay service with no ads, longer uninterrupted service, no limits on use, etc.
I say, go for it. Either it works or the company fails...
The only reasons I like Hulu are because of the short commercials and being able to see shows I would not otherwise be able to see. To be honest, I think I may drop my cable. We started watching Kyle XY and its pretty neat. I'd never had known how good of a show it was if I couldn't use hulu to explore shows I don't have time to see. On the other hand if it is too expensive I'd just go to the free sites or stick with cable. Something like 1 year for $10 or something would be good.
Leave it to the Media moguls to fuck up a system that works. Ads generate money. New generations are tired of TV ad's. They are too long and too frequent. People arent standing for this bullshit and since you big companies arent paying much or raising at all, Dont expect the people to stand by silently while you keep raping us and losing us as customers.
btw I dropped all tv services 2 years ago and ever since doing so I have more free time and more money... I would recommend you drop your NFL Sunday Ticket, Direct TV, cable providers and others because the money is more useful and so is your free time. Stop wasting you life and giving all your time to these private companies that don't give a single CRAP about you... take back your freedom and your free time.
For an example of how well this model worked, search for the History of XM Satellite radio. Ever since they started charging customers have dropped at a record rate and now they don't make any money.
I was watching hulu last night and I decided that I won't pay a penny for it. I seriously doubt that they would charge $1 a month, but that is all I'd pay. At about 9PM the connection got so slow we could not watch anymore. I won't pay until they run a dedicated T1 line to my house.