Oct 29 2009OK, Hulu Isn't Actually Charging

Breathe easy; you can still watch your favorite episodes of Forever Knight for free. Entertainment Weekly has heard from an insider that last week's news that the streaming video service would eventually begin charging weren't entirely accurate:

A source close to Hulu ... tells EW that the site remains steadfastly committed to free content, explaining that any possible subscription or pay-per-view service has no set timeline and would only build upon what Hulu offers, not replace it. Of course, this isn’t the first time an executive from News Corp. (like, say, chairman Rupert Murdoch) has openly speculated about getting people to pay for at least some stuff on Hulu — and why wouldn’t they? Media companies were built in the 20th century by collecting money from a variety of sources and audiences — ads on broadcast TV, box office ticket sales, premium cable subscription fees, DVD purchases — so it makes sense that they would pursue the same strategy for the 21st century.

Phew. This is a victory for wasting time watching thing online, general thrift, and people who like to brag about not watching TV on the technicality that they watch shows on the internet. And best of all, now I'll still have money for lottery tickets!