I think HBO is that competitor. Also, the funny thing about Hulu is: nobody wants to acquire them b/c they know big 3 networks will jack up the pricing for the

I think HBO is that competitor. Also, the funny thing about Hulu is: nobody wants to acquire them b/c they know big 3 networks will jack up the pricing for the content as soon as they sell it. Hulu is less competition to traditional TV because they still have commercials which fundamentally hobbles them. I imagine Hulu's owners hobble them in other ways (admittedly, just a hunch). Broadcast TV DVRs like HD Homerun and Channel Master DVR+ are currently under-utilized (even TIVO, the leader, is), but eventually may become well-known and used.