Discovery’s Zaslav not ready to tango with Hulu

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Discovery Communications Inc. chief David Zaslav is in no rush to put his content on Hulu, the online video site owned by NBC Universal and News Corp.

‘We’re waiting to see if an economic model develops,’ Zaslav said at the National Assn. of Broadcasters convention Wednesday in Las Vegas. Discovery does not shun all of broadband. It has made footage of its non-fiction programming available on YouTube as well as its own sites.

But clips are one thing and entire episodes of shows are something else. Discovery, which is starting to have some success syndicating its shows such as ‘American Chopper,’ is wary of upsetting the status quo. ‘A lot of content players are putting an enormous amount on the Web, which works against syndication,’ he said.

Of course, Zaslav also knows where his bread is buttered. Discovery received crucial support in its early days by cable operators including mogul John Malone, and its later investors included Cox Communications Inc. Many cable programmers are concerned about how to exploit broadband without alienating their distributors, and cable operators are starting to make noise about paying top dollar for content that is not exclusive to them.

-- Joe Flint