News Corp. exec: Hulu "could" start charging for videos

Streaming video site Hulu is a hit with viewers thanks to its free, ad-supported TV shows and movies, but a key executive at News Corp.—one of Hulu's primary backers, not to mention owner of the Fox TV network—thinks that charging visitors for at least some of Hulu's shows is, "over time," a "logical thing."

Daily Finance blogger Jeff Bercovici reports that Jonathan Miller, the new head of News Corp's digital division, floated the idea during a conference earlier this week.

Bercovici notes that Miller is still getting his feet wet at Hulu, and that the concept of charging for Hulu videos is "merely his own speculation" for now. Nevertheless, when asked whether for-pay Hulu videos is really a possibility, Miller said "the answer could be yes ... it seems to me that over time that could be a logical thing."

Miller didn't go into any more detail about exactly which—or how many—of Hulu's free video offerings he thinks could end up with price tags attached, although as Bercovici writes, Miller's "chief digital officer" title at News Corp. guarantees "his definition of what's logical is likely to carry a lot of weight."

The idea seems to fly in the face of the whole idea behind Hulu, which owes its popularity to the fact that its videos—including episodes of hit shows like "The Office," "30 Rock," "24," and "The Daily Show"—are free. And judging from the growing number of ads peppering Hulu's shows and movies, it appears that sponsors are catching on, as well.

So, what do you think, Hulu fans: Would you keep on streaming even if the site began charging for its shows (or some of them, anyway)? Think for-pay videos on Hulu are simply inevitable, or should the service try to make a go of it purely with revenue from advertisers?

Related:
Soon, you'll have to pay for Hulu [Daily Finance]