Hulu Timidly Inches Toward Online TV Listings

Hulu this week launched a “Coming Soon” section to inform fans when new episodes are due to appear on the site. It’s a useful feature, and according to Hulu, one of its most-requested, but the guide is way less informative than it could be.

First, the good parts: Hulu has created a nice thumbnail-illustrated list of shows that are set to appear on the site the next day. Users can sign up for email alerts when the actual video arrives on the site, and bloggers can get a dummy embed code that Hulu will fill with the video when it’s available.

OK, but here are the downsides: This is only for scripted shows that are currently airing on ABC, Fox and NBC. We all know there is a lot more to watch than that! It’s not like reality and talk shows aren’t regularly scheduled.

Further, there are no actual times indicated for when a show is supposed to arrive on Hulu after it airs. For 100 percent of the current listings, the only information offered is that the shows are posted to Hulu on the day after they air on TV. Great. We already knew that. A few programs have a more complicated online release schedule — for instance, House appears on Hulu eight days after airing. We hate to say it, but this schedule seems to forebode more of these wonky windows.

However, this simple chronological list of a few shows from Hulu’s joint owners was already a big project, Hulu product manager Betina Chan-Martin explained in a blog post, saying the page was the result of “a lot of work with our content providers, our product and design team, and our content team.” Yikes. We’re glad we didn’t have to sit in on those meetings.