?????他深信這些媒體老板們多多少少已經對Hulu失去了興趣。“他們不想讓它成功。這就是媒體經濟學——如果它成功了，那也是建立在蠶食電視媒體的現金流基礎上的，而這個產業要靠收視率吃飯。所以他們決定，不讓Hulu的品質太好，或是做得太成功。”

??? 這些媒體巨頭剛開始創辦Hulu的初衷很清楚，就是要充分滿足觀眾對網絡上電視節目迅速增長的需求，同時防止他們去買盜版。他們認為，點對點的文件分享對視頻來說會像對音樂一樣管用。這種想法促使他們在節目剛播出第二天就把它們掛到網上。但與此同時，隨著基于認證的模式——即如果觀眾證明自己已為電視付費，就能觀看這些內容——證明頗為成功，這種擔憂也就煙消云散了。他說：“這種模式使這些媒體公司成功地避免了Hulu直接蠶食自己的收入，同時對Hulu的需求也消失了。”媒體公司可不想拿模擬電視的收入去換數字內容賺來的錢。

????迪斯尼公司的總裁鮑勃?伊戈爾對《財富》雜志發表的一則聲明稱：“杰森是Hulu發展史上不可或缺的一部分，正是他把它從一個有意思的點子變成一個創新的商業模式，并使之持續發展。我們為他的成就而自豪，我們對他所打造的一切深表贊賞，并且我們和他一樣，深信公司的團隊有能力推動Hulu致力向前。”而其他的媒體大佬們則沒有回應發表評論的要求。

????吉拉爾對Hulu極其投入，曾經對它的前景深信不疑。去年雅虎公司（Yahoo）的斯科特?湯普森辭職后，他拒絕了執掌雅虎的邀約，轉而繼續請求Hulu的媒體老板們注入2億美元，幫助Hulu資助更有原創性的節目，以進一步在競爭中鞏固地位。但知情人士表示，這些媒體巨頭不愿意打開荷包掏錢。畢竟，據2012年11月21日由迪斯尼公司發布的一份文件稱，Hulu去年10月已向母公司借款3.38億美元用于回購普羅維登斯的股份，并向員工支付一筆總額高達1.34億美元、基于股份的薪酬。

????正是這些情況可能讓吉拉爾最終決定低頭認輸。麥奎維說：“吉拉爾肯定經過了長時間的痛苦思考，最終認定，他向員工承諾過的關于這家公司將會如何如何的話永遠也無法全部兌現，而他向市場描繪的這家公司的美好前景也都會落空。我覺得，雙方在如何進一步調整商業模式，及在戰略上如何打造這家公司存在一些分歧。”

????He believes the media owners have more or less lost interest in Hulu. "They don't want it to succeed," says McQuivey. "It's media economics -- if it succeeds, it will do so by cannibalizing the currency of the television media business today which is television ratings. So they made a decision to make sure Hulu didn't get too good or become too successful."

????When the media companies first formed Hulu, it was aimed at satiating the booming consumer appetite for TV content over the web and to prevent consumers from seeking pirated material. They thought peer-to-peer file sharing was going to do to video what it did to music. That led them to make content available online a day after broadcast. In the mean time, that fear dissipated as authentication-based models -- where people can access programming if they prove they paid for television -- proved successful. "That model allowed the media companies to avoid direct cannibalization and the need for Hulu evaporated," he says. Media firms don't want to swap analog dollars for digital dimes.

????Disney chief Bob Iger said in a statement to Fortune, "Jason has been an integral part of the Hulu story, transforming it from an interesting idea into an innovative business model that continues to evolve. We are proud of his achievements, we appreciate what he's built, and we share his confidence in his team's ability to drive Hulu forward from here." The firm's other media owners did not respond to request for comment.

????Kilar's dedication and belief in Hulu ran deep. He turned down overtures last year to head up Yahoo (YHOO), after Scott Thompson resigned. Instead, Kilar continued to plead with Hulu's media owners, requesting a $200 million infusion to help Hulu fund more original programming that could further differentiate it from competitors. But the media giants were reluctant to open their wallets, according to people familiar with the situation. Afterall, Hulu already had to borrow $338 million in October to buy out Providence's stake and cover a $134 million employee equity-based compensation package in 2012, according to a Nov. 21 filing by Disney.

????This all likely led to Kilar's decision to throw in the towel. "Kilar had to do some long hard thinking that his company was never going to be all of the things he had promised his employees and that he had signaled to the market that company could become," says McQuivey. "I suspect there was some disagreement on the business model going forward and strategically how to shape the company," says Smith.