Can Hulu’s High Prices Hold?
Posted by: Douglas MacMillan on August 31, 2009 This fall, new episodes of The Office, 30 Rock, and other hit shows will keep millions of online eyeballs glued to Hulu. But some advertisers are reluctant to pay the high rates the online video startup is charging to reach those audiences, and have started weighing their options elsewhere. Currently, Hulu charges an average of $40 for every thousand views of an ad, according to Philippe Sloan, who buys ad space for clients of New York marketing agency Targetcast tcm. With ad space alongside videos on portal sites like MSN and Yahoo! running at about half that price, and cheaper options becoming available through YouTube and video ad networks, he says some clients are pulling ad dollars from Hulu and testing the effectiveness of other channels. “I think there’s going to be pressure on the site to bring their rates down,” Sloan says. Hulu, a joint venture of TV networks Fox, NBC Universal, and – since May – ABC, no doubt gives advertisers
