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See Ya, Stewart: Viacom to Remove 'Daily Show,' 'Colbert' From Hulu

by Amar Toor on March 3, 2010 at 10:10 AM

In what The New York Times is calling "the first major fracture" between TV execs and the video streaming Web site, Viacom has decided to pull both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert from Hulu's lineup of shows. The specifics remain uncertain, but it seems that the two parties couldn't agree on how to divide the swelling ad revenue that both shows have yielded. As Hulu's Andy Forssell wrote in a blog post yesterday, both programs have been enjoying "steadily increasing revenue per view" since they were introduced to the site in 2008 -- a testament, he claims, to the site's "innovative ad formats and very strong advertising effectiveness." While Forssell did mention that Hulu is still discussing "a number of opportunities" with Comedy Central, and asked for viewers to "stay tuned," the rest of his "Fond Farewell" reads more like a eulogy than it does a teaser.

Fortunately, Comedy Central has reassured fans that they'll still be able to watch Stewart and Colbert on their respective Web sites. Even though users won't be drastically affected, the move speaks to systemic issues surrounding the content owner/distributor hierarchy. Unlike ABC, NBC and Fox, Viacom does not own a stake in Hulu. Its decision to remove the shows -- at the height of their popularity, no less -- may imply that there's a significant difference between the profits of Hulu stakeholders and those of non-affiliated content owners. According to sources close to the negotiations, Viacom
simply wanted a larger slice of the Hulu revenue pie, and may have been lobbying for an additional "up front" payment. After lengthy discussions, however, the parties "could not agree on a price."

Although this certainly doesn't sound the death knell for Hulu or for Comedy Central, Viacom's decision does serve as a harsh reality check. As Internet streaming and video platforms have become more common, we've all taken content owners for granted, and have come to expect network content available as streaming video. As Viacom painfully reminded us, content owners still hold the legal cards. If they one day decide to sweep their rug of programming out from underneath Web distributors, they certainly can. [From: Hulu; via: The New York Times]

Tags: colbert report, ColbertReport, comedy central, ComedyCentral, daily show, DailyShow, hulu, money, streaming, top, tv, viacom

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