All good things must eventually come to an end.  For those of us who rely on Hulu to catch up on missed TV programs and for entertainment while trapped in our work cubes, it might end up costing a little money come this time next year.  Sadly, the free TV online service has announced plans to roll out a subscription-based option starting sometime in 2010.

Now, that’s not guaranteed to be bad.  If Hulu provides the same amount of advertizing-supported movies and television shows, then I’ll continue to use it.  If they put everything behind the subscription wall, no dice.  I’m used to watching network TV for free thanks to commercials, and the reason why people use Hulu is because it’s network TV for free thanks to commercials.

The fact is, if they make Hulu paid, people are going to stop using it.   I’ll just start using Crackle for my video-watching needs.  While the TV isn’t as good, the movie selection is spectacular.  If I miss an episode of The Office or Family Guy, I’ll just watch them at their respective official network websites.