Are People Really Watching Hulu? Distribution is a Dirty Little Business
All I know about Hulu is that is an online TV site that Alec Baldwin did a commercial for I saw.
The only reason I kept watching was because his short role in Glengarry Glen Ross was one hell of an acting performance.
What sparked this post was an article I read in The Los Angeles Times business section with the headline - How many people are really watching Hulu? The smaller headline about measuring online audiences remains uncertain is what really caught my attention the most.
I am an independent content producer that continues to rely more on video on demand (VOD) and online digital distribution to computers and mobile devices for sales to viewers.
Like many independent entertainment producers that are not backed by studios and corporations I turn to the Internet to self-promote Slice Of Americana Films releases.
I took notice when Keith Richman, CEO of Break.
com, expressed frustration that his video site, "was dramatically underrepresented and misrepresented" by online audience measuring systems.
After reading this excellent article by Times reporter Dawn C.
Chmielewski I started think of how what is happening with media giants in terms of distributing entertainment on online to viewers relates to the indie world.
I immediately tossed out the advertisement dollars at stake because at the true independent level there is not advertising revenue being shared with producers, unless you consider Google AdSense.
Where my focus went was to the debate on the number of viewers that were really being reached online.
Because underneath that argument that is important to companies that stream content for free solely to make money from advertisers there is an independent production side to the story.
As an indie producer I cannot afford to give away free content that takes hard work, time, and money to create.
There are no advertising dollars being deposited in my bank account to balance out the costs, pay people, and earn a living.
What I do is create entertainment that viewers enjoy and are willing to pay for on VOD or digital download.
Back to the debate on the number of real online viewers for a site, are companies dependent on advertising revenue and not sales of content over stating the paying demand for online content? Or is their take on things not making a difference between online viewers that buy content or watch content for free? I would like to think that viewers are willing to pay for quality entertainment from indie producers online.
Right now Slice Of Americana Films has mobile videos like Club Universe with Supermodel Joanna Krupa that sell for $1.
50 a download that are doing well, especially in Japan and Poland.
There is also a successful VOD run with the America's Wildest Bachelor Parties reality series and Fantasy Striptease Private Shows through a company I will not mention.
The feature films Consignment and In With Thieves that I wrote, coproduced, and directed are with distributors.
Honestly, I do not get any information on how digital sales online are going.
The filmmaker is always last to know.
I personally do not think DVD is a dead format.
It reminds of The Sky Is Falling with Chicken Little, but with online sites hungry for advertising money sending the message.
Fantasy Striptease Private Shows on DVD is doing solid sales numbers every month.
Units are selling at a steady pace that tells me people still appreciate production value and not just viral videos.
So my question is not are online viewers really watching, but are online viewers willing to pay for independently produced content? This indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing ARE YOU?
The only reason I kept watching was because his short role in Glengarry Glen Ross was one hell of an acting performance.
What sparked this post was an article I read in The Los Angeles Times business section with the headline - How many people are really watching Hulu? The smaller headline about measuring online audiences remains uncertain is what really caught my attention the most.
I am an independent content producer that continues to rely more on video on demand (VOD) and online digital distribution to computers and mobile devices for sales to viewers.
Like many independent entertainment producers that are not backed by studios and corporations I turn to the Internet to self-promote Slice Of Americana Films releases.
I took notice when Keith Richman, CEO of Break.
com, expressed frustration that his video site, "was dramatically underrepresented and misrepresented" by online audience measuring systems.
After reading this excellent article by Times reporter Dawn C.
Chmielewski I started think of how what is happening with media giants in terms of distributing entertainment on online to viewers relates to the indie world.
I immediately tossed out the advertisement dollars at stake because at the true independent level there is not advertising revenue being shared with producers, unless you consider Google AdSense.
Where my focus went was to the debate on the number of viewers that were really being reached online.
Because underneath that argument that is important to companies that stream content for free solely to make money from advertisers there is an independent production side to the story.
As an indie producer I cannot afford to give away free content that takes hard work, time, and money to create.
There are no advertising dollars being deposited in my bank account to balance out the costs, pay people, and earn a living.
What I do is create entertainment that viewers enjoy and are willing to pay for on VOD or digital download.
Back to the debate on the number of real online viewers for a site, are companies dependent on advertising revenue and not sales of content over stating the paying demand for online content? Or is their take on things not making a difference between online viewers that buy content or watch content for free? I would like to think that viewers are willing to pay for quality entertainment from indie producers online.
Right now Slice Of Americana Films has mobile videos like Club Universe with Supermodel Joanna Krupa that sell for $1.
50 a download that are doing well, especially in Japan and Poland.
There is also a successful VOD run with the America's Wildest Bachelor Parties reality series and Fantasy Striptease Private Shows through a company I will not mention.
The feature films Consignment and In With Thieves that I wrote, coproduced, and directed are with distributors.
Honestly, I do not get any information on how digital sales online are going.
The filmmaker is always last to know.
I personally do not think DVD is a dead format.
It reminds of The Sky Is Falling with Chicken Little, but with online sites hungry for advertising money sending the message.
Fantasy Striptease Private Shows on DVD is doing solid sales numbers every month.
Units are selling at a steady pace that tells me people still appreciate production value and not just viral videos.
So my question is not are online viewers really watching, but are online viewers willing to pay for independently produced content? This indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing ARE YOU?
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