Both Kyra and I are huge fans of Hulu, not just for their incredible content/player, but because they get it. Last week’s action by CEO, Jason Kilar is a primo example of why Hulu leads the pack in the premium online video space.
About ten days ago, without warning, Hulu yanked three season’s worth of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The response was flame-broiled. Some fans were angry at Hulu for interrupting their barreling process (consuming several episodes at once in an attempt to catch up to the current season, usually upon discovering a new favorite show). Others blamed the site erroneously for, in reality, it was FX’s decision. As resentment grew, so did the number of negative comment and tweets.
Anyone know a good place to watch it? Once upon a time there was a cool website called ‘Hulu’. Shift+Delete from list of favorites. -1muddytruck
This was the reason I cam to the site. Now it’s gone. 5 stars for the show. Never coming back to this site again. Quote me. -ddorsey72
5 stars for the show. — 0 stars for Hulu’s decision making and obvious lack of respect for their patrons. -zakmckracken
Instead of ignoring the fallout for a relatively minor error in judgment, Hulu’s CEO, Jason Kilar posted a direct-to-user apology on the Sunny page and on the Hulu blog, which included the announcement that the shows would be available again for another two weeks with FX’s permission. The letter was heartfelt, authentic, radically transparent, and most importantly showed they were listening.