Free Online TV Viewing May Become More Limited

Increasingly consumers are able to view video content online with free or low-cost services. But some new limits are emerging, in what could be a trend.

For example, consumers can go to Hulu.com the day after many network shows air and watch them for free. Fox, however, is changing its policy, only allowing paying customers of cable or satellite TV to watch its shows the following day. All others must wait eight days.

A little too successful

Why the change? The New York Times reports, in the case of Fox, the network wants to protect its arrangements with cable and satellite networks.

Fox, as well as other networks, receives lucrative payments from cable and satellite providers for the right to transmit its programming. These providers can't be very happy about the fact that viewers can watch many of these same programs online the following day without paying for it.

The change announced by Fox goes into effect August 15. The Times reports that at least one other network, ABC, is considering a similar move.

Consumers who subscribe to an approved cable or satellite system will be able to watch Fox programs on Hulu 24 hours later. There will be an “authentication” process when a consumer attempts to view a restricted program on Hulu. The consumer will enter a user name and password to prove that they are a paying subscriber to a cable system.

Part of a trend?

Fox is the first network to take this step but it may not be the last. An increasing number of young consumers do most of their TV viewing online, through free services like Hulu and low-cost subscription services like Netflix.

Cable and satellite providers may become increasingly reluctant to write huge checks to the networks for the right to carry their programming if the same programs are available to consumers online for free.

At first, streaming TV shows online was something of a novelty, with networks streaming their programs simply because they could. However, novelty or not, consumers apparently like it. With millions of dollars a stake, its possible TV networks could begin taking back what they have been giving Internet users for free.