My Take on Fancast {and Hulu, Too}

Recently One2One Network (a fabulous word-of-mouth marketing group I belong to) asked me to spend some time on Fancast.com and share my opinions here on my blog.  Since it’s a service I have seen advertised on TV and was curious about anyway, I was happy to oblige.

Fancast, a child of Comcast, touts itself as “THE top entertainment site dedicated to celebrating television” and with more than 10,000 hours of online video programming, is a fantastic alternative for people like me who have limited (if any!) time to watch TV as it’s being broadcast.  In addition to TV, Fancast also offers movies, trailers, and clips for easy and convenient viewing.

On my first visit to the site, I caught up on this season’s smash sensation, “Glee.”  I was pleased to find out that even though my internet connection (which is also provided by Comcast, how ironic) cut out, I was able to log right back on to the site and pick up where the episode stalled.  In terms of commercial interruptions, they were few and tasteful, and didn’t detract from my overall viewing experience.

I noticed while watching my episode of “Glee” that the broadcast was watermarked with the Hulu logo.  Which, to be honest, got me to thinking:  what’s the difference between Fancast and Hulu anyway?  It’s not a question I was necessarily asked to consider, but in my opinion, it practically begs to be looked at.

As far as I could tell from examing both sites, Fancast and Hulu have a lot of similarities.  Both sites offer episodes and movies originally broadcast on television, both from the current season and seasons past (you can even catch classic episodes of She-ra, Gilligan’s Island, the Jetsons, and more!).  Both sites must abide by restrictions on certain shows, meaning it’s not a total free-for-all in content (for instance, I couldn’t get the first episode of Glee on either site).  Both sites focus on convenience and are easy to use and navigate.

It seems where Fancast and Hulu differ the most comes down to the extended coverage of entertainment news, etc.  Whereas Hulu is more streamlined and appears much more concerned with delivering the viewing experience, Fancast branches out to include editorial and blog coverage and agreggated links to sites link E! News and Fandango.  Both sites have their strengths and I imagine a user’s choice is primarily guided by what they’re looking for in terms of their entertainment “fix.”

I don’t feel confident in pitching either Fancast or Hulu as the clear “winner” in terms of providing television content online.  To be honest, it reminds me of other products like Coke/Pepsi, McDonalds/Burger King, etc where the services are essentially the same (and both strong in their own right), but gain fans for one or the other based on the subjective personal preferences of the consumer.

Bottom line for me as a busy mom who rarely gets the chance to venture beyond channels 41 (Disney) and 43 (Nickelodean)?  I’m just grateful sites like Fancast exist in the first place!

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