“There’s fairly compelling data out there that digital people get annoyed--they’ve been trained to be able to click something immediately when they see it,” said Mr. Housman, formerly of News Corp. “As soon as we were out there talking about this, we wanted you to be able to see the show.”

Despite the lack of roll-out for Mr. King’s second act after his departure from CNN in 2010, the project has been gestating for some time: Mr. Housman was brought on board to lead the new video company, he said, after a conversation between Mr. King and Carlos Slim Helu led to the notion of bringing Mr. King online. Mr. King had been in Mexico City in September 2010 to speak at a scholarship awards ceremony put on by Mr. Slim Helu; in his memoir, the host wrote, “At age seventy-seven, I was still making friends like Carlos Slim. Which made me feel like the richest man in the world.”

How will Mr. King’s new act, funded by his pal’s deep pockets, differ from his first? “We have flexibility in format, if we have a guest we want to run long on, we have flexibility to have that interview go as long as needed.” (In the first week, an interview with Seth MacFarlane ran nearly 27 minutes, while Matthew McConaughey got just shy of 20. Meghan McCain was in the middle.) Mr. Housman indicated that this show catching on was a matter of booking; speaking hypothetically, he noted, “There are not that many shows where you can talk to a presidential candidate, a world leader, but also Lady Gaga and Ryan Seacrest.” Promoting the show will rely on Mr. King being his irascible self in new platforms: he did an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit this week.

“On social media, he’s one of the most followed media personalities in the world,” raved Mr. Housman.

Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig (NBC)

This is an inexplicable trend of the live comedy show in recent years: One of the funniest sketches this season was "The Californians," a soap opera about navigating the drive up to Malibu. Bill Hader's struggle to keep it together during the bit made it an instant classic and spawned a thousand GIFs. (Unlike his predecessor Jimmy Fallon, Mr. Hader's struggle not to crack up on stage makes any sketch 1,000 times funnier.) But even better than the version that actually made it to air was the dress version of 'The Californians,' which Hulu offers with several other scenes from past seasons that either never aired or just weren't as funny when they did.

We understand the idea of having "web extras" as supplemental material, but not at the expensive of the actual show. Why bother tuning in when the funny stuff is only going to be online? Below, we compare and contrast these un-aired clips with the version that made it on TV...as well as some bits that never got off the Internet.

"The Californians" (dress version):

"The Californians" (aired version):


'Mozart' with Justin Timberlake (never aired):

'What's Up With That?' with Mike Tyson (dress):

'What's Up With That?' (aired):


'Grady Wilson' with Will Ferrell (never aired):

'Band Reunion at the Wedding' with Dave Grohl and Ashton Kutcher (dress):

'Band Reunion at the Wedding' (aired):

Seth Meyers unveils 'The Awesomes' for Hulu (Getty Images)

As an increasing segment of the population cancel their cable subscription and subsist on a diet of television and films streamed through their laptops, Internet video sites like Hulu and Netflix have hastily bid on a slew of original series in the hopes that one day soon, nobody will use their televisions unless Roku is involved.

While Netflix is funding series that appeal to a cult fan base--a new season of Arrested Development, House of Cards, Lilyhammer (already renewed for a second season), and Hemlock Grove-- Hulu's recent acquisitions point to a wide-net marketing strategy:  accessible shows for an audience of TV viewers who want more of the same.

Today, during Hulu's upfronts, viewers got a brief glimpse of The Awesomes,  an animated series by Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers.

The Awesomes will be joining Hulu's stockpile of original content, including Morgan Spurlock's A Day in the Life, Battleground, Don't Quit Your Daydream (a singing contest program), Flow (documentary series about parkour), and We Got Next (scripted comedy about pick-up basketball).

The Awesomes will be loosely based on Mr. Meyers' experience backstage at SNL, where he is head writer...except everyone will be superheroes.  Let the 30 Rock comparisons begin!

ddaddario@observer.com :: @DPD_

"News crews and paparazzi converged on the Tousignants' quiet Brea neighborhood," says the lawsuit. "They were inundated with phone calls and messages. They were forced to flee their house and stay at another location. Tanner was followed. Their online accounts were hacked into. They were and continue to be the subject of scorn and scrutiny in their own community. Their reputations have been permanently damaged."

The Hangover Part II, True Blood and Mortal Kombat 9, saved Time Warner, Jeff Bewkes told the The New York Times. On Wednesday the company, which owns Warner Brothers, Turner Broadcasting and Time Inc., reported a 10% increase in revenue this quarter, the highest growth since January.

At a party celebrating new Elle publisher Kevin O'Malley, David Carey updated WWD on the most important aspect of the Hearst-Hachette merger: seating arrangements.

“The real estate people are hard at work putting the puzzle together,” Carey said, insisting that floor selection won’t be political, with sexier titles on higher floors. “It may have been in the past when they had a brand new building,” he said. “In this case the floors get based on the least dislocation to the building. Now we’re thinking in terms of the path of least resistance because we don’t want to touch all 44 floors.”

Morgan Spurlock will launch a documentary series available only on Hulu beginning August 17, called "Day in the Life," according to the The Wrap. The show follows famous people like Richard Branson and will.i.am around for the day. Is this how Hulu plans on convincing us to pay for it?

In a lengthy blog post, Kilar laid out the future of web TV as Hulu sees it, and didn't mince words when describing the traditional TV networks, Hulu's parent companies. 

"History has shown that incumbents tend to fight trends that challenge established ways and, in the process, lose focus on what matters most: customers. Hulu is not burdened by that legacy."

Kilar says Hulu is on track to reach a half billion dollars in revenue this year, a number that includes advertising and subscription fees, and points out that his company is already earning very attractive rates on ads when compared to the industry as a whole. 

Often Hulu is referred to as the corporate teacher's pet in the landscape of web TV, but it's clear Kilar has a different identity in mind.

"A number of you that are reading this might be thinking that we’d have to be crazy to think that our small team can actually re-invent television and compete effectively against a landscape of distribution giants like cable companies, satellite companies, and huge online companies," he wrote. "We are crazy. All entrepreneurs need to be."

bpopper [at] observer.com | @benpopper

According to the The Journal's Sam Schechner and Amir Efrati, "The move marks an escalation in ongoing disputes between Google and some media companies, which are skeptical that Google can provide a business model that would compensate them for potentially cannibalizing existing broadcast businesses."

This makes no sense. Google TV simply makes it easy for users to do on their televisions what they already do on their computers. It doesn't circumvent the ads being shown, or business models like that of Hulu, which takes in both subscription and ad-supported revenue.

If anything, it would encourage people to sign up for Hulu Premium by making it easier to watch streaming video on the best screen in the house, the TV.

Disney, which owns ABC, was unsatisified with the fact that Google TV doesn't completely block out all pirated content. Guess what, it's not Google's job to police the internet. By making the web TV experience more seamless, Google is doing its part to encourage legal consumption. The networks would be well served to wake up and get on board.

bpopper [at] observer.com | @benpopper

Hulu is backed by GE (NBC), Disney (ABC) and News Corp. (Fox), so it's future will have a big impact on New York's media market.

The company claims to be profitable and to have generated revenue north of $100 million in 2009. Comscore's latest numbers show that Hulu now delivers more ads than any video site, even Youtube, which is much larger. 

But until it goes public there is no way to verify the company's financials, and even if they were true, they hardly seem to justify a IPO valuation 20 times their revenue.

With Netflix, Apple, Google and TV Everywhere breathing down their neck, however, Hulu probably feels now is the time go big or go home. We'll see if the market supports their enthusiasm.