AOL Begins Hulu Push To Its Member Base

I've enjoyed using Hulu for several weeks now. The quality is good, the technology works well and so far no errors. The success of Hulu is dependent on their partner Web sites. For example, I could see my mom using AOL Video to watch reruns of Murder She Wrote, but getting her to go to hulu.com might be more difficult.

AOL and MSN were the first partner Web sites to feature hulu content. Today I noticed for the first time that AOL is pushing hulu to its software customers -- those who use the full AOL application (and yes, I do use the AOL application). The link appears within the mail function and normally the link (in purple) is for an ad partner.

When you click on the graphic, it takes you to AOL Video and directly into the Hulu section. It's a smart move by AOL to start to move its base of customers into hulu through AOL Video where they can monetize the videos beyond the in-video ads provided by hulu. The only suggestion I have for AOL is to remove the hulu name and just promote the shows and clips as AOL Video content. It's not the same as noting "CBS" on a panel of content.