I'm having trouble getting people to watch Chuck, The Office, and Supernatural. Why?

I’m not sure why reading the Hollywood Reporter sparks strong opinions from me, but I read that video streams on MSN increased by 23% over numbers in January. Why is this a point of interest? It means people are craving for video online, especially since incidents like the writers' strike have driven them to seek entertainment elsewhere. I know the article mentions that aside from Super Bowl commercials many people tuned in for a nude photo spread of Lindsay Lohan, but traffic is traffic.

Anyway, my point is one visit to MSN shows they’ve also started offering full length TV episodes, mostly via partnership with Hulu.com. This creates both hope and frustration for fans like me who spend countless hours online promoting favorite shows. There's hope that everyone can now get easy online access to check out the programs die hard fans like me are desperately trying to spread the word about, and frustration because most the episodes, especially the first season ones, aren't there.

Hulu.com is a user friendly site that offers a selection of full TV episodes and clips with ad-supported streaming. Viewers get easy access to a selection of shows, and partners on the site get some ad revenue out of it. Despite the possibilities though, Hulu’s content is still spotty and very incomplete. Why aren’t Hulu’s distributing partners or the networks in general making all episodes of their current shows available online, thus giving them chances at free promotion and securing increased future ratings? How is giving us such shows like Starsky and Hutch, What’s Happening, and Emergency! going to build ratings for future airings?

Why are networks holding back?

Hulu is getting what they need. For example, I’ve always wanted to check out Buffy The Vampire Slayer and while bored one night I watched the pilot with one easy click on Hulu. While that’s great for a show that has long since come and gone, and it gives Hulu their income from ads, what exactly have I done for this show? The only benefit I see for the distributor is that I’ll get hooked and buy the DVDs (which is still possible, although I’m not won over yet). Is that really the master plan, or just a happy side effect?

Every bubble show on television should have all its episodes on a site like Hulu. I see all the passionate "save our show" fan campaigns out there, yet I can tell you exactly why I haven’t been watching How I Met Your Mother. I’d love to see it, but it’s in season three now. I would rather watch from the beginning and if I like what I see, then I'll tune in to live showings once I catch up. Why can’t I get the shows from the first two seasons online for free? I have a Netflix subscription and those seasons are available on DVD there, but I won’t get around to seeing them until my already hefty queue clears out. Wouldn’t simpler access online inspire me to watch it sooner, like I did with Buffy?

The Office won me over this way. Netflix is showing the first three seasons of the show online with no restrictions for subscribers. I’ve been spending evenings here and there watching an episode or two at a time, and with season four on Hulu, by the time season five starts I’ll be caught up enough to watch live (although I won't because it's on the same time as Supernatural, but I'll watch with same day DVR). I don’t have to wait for a DVD to come in the mail after I send one back, which is a pretty cumbersome process.

page 1 | 2 | 3