Hulu is considering charging users for access to popular shows. While the joint venture between NBC, Fox and Disney has grown to popularity by allowing users to stream television shows for free online, it may start charging users $4.99 a month to watch older episodes of shows like 30 Rock housed in its vast archive. Hulu hopes to have roughly twenty shows, both new and old, available with a subscription, which could surface in the next six months.
Amazon unveiled that it is perparing to open an Application store for the Kindle. Like Apple's popular iPhone app store, Amazon will give developers the ability to produce applications for its eReader. Bringing apps to the Kindle will make it a more versatile device, and could help it compete with Apple's highly touted Tablet.
Cablevision customers are finally set to get the Food Network and HGTV back on the air. The channels were lost to Cablevision subscribers after Scripps contract with the cable provider ran out on New Year's Eve. The agreement will bring the Food Network and HGTV back to approximately 3 million viewers in the tri-state area.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV. Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars