Public Interest Groups Hammer Comcast Over Reports of Hulu's Change in Streaming Model

Public interest groups were quick to jump on reports that Hulu was going start requiring a cable TV subscription to access its content (the cable industry's "authentication" model for putting its programming online), though they differed over what that move meant.

Free Press said it called into question whether Comcast was living up to its NBCU deal conditions (NBC is a co-owner of Hulu), and asked for an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, which approved the Comcast/NBCU deal. By contrast, Public Knowledge apparently did not think moving the content behind a pay wall violated any of the deal conditions. In fact, it said the FCC specifically did not adopt such a condition, even though it was recommended by some. Comcast says it has no role in Hulu management decisions, which was a condition in the deal.