Hulu CEO and UNC alumnus Jason Kiler delivers Roy H. Park Lecture

Any lecture titled “Sex Lies & Online Video: From Howell Hall to Hulu,” is bound to capture audience interest. And on Wednesday, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar did just that.

A die-hard UNC fan and proud alumnus, Kilar returned to Gerrard Hall to discuss not only the impact of modern media on customer satisfaction, but also his own adventures at UNC.

Kilar, invited by UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication to deliver the Roy H. Park Distinguished lecture, broke his talk up into three parts: his adventure, media and “your adventure.”

As an executive at Amazon during the company’s early years, Kiler worked to expand the business online as the Internet grew in popularity.

In 2007, after working at Amazon for 10 years, Kiler was named CEO of Hulu, an online video service offering clips of popular television shows and movies.

Explaining his own adventure at UNC, Kiler said he took advantage of every aspect of what the University had to offer, from academics to athletics.

“Try to soak up everything,” he said. “Feast on the experience that is Carolina and make sure that you get the whole package.”

A determined student, Kiler said he persistently followed his passions, getting his hands on anything that dealt with media.

Kiler also took time to understand the history of media and its current condition.

He explained that more video footage has been uploaded on YouTube in the last two months than new content aired by the major television networks since 1948.

“His talk really crystallized for me the idea that traditional media is already dying, if not already dead,” said junior Alletta Cooper.

Kiler also said the emergence of online media has helped Hulu focus on consumer satisfaction.

“It is all about the customer. The Internet is simply a tool to deliver a much better customer experience,” he said.

Freshman Jessica Roux said she was impressed by the company’s attention to consumer interest.

“The talk was really informative, and I never recognized how much Hulu focused on a consumer and advertisement aspect.”

Kiler said he hopes one day consumers will be able to choose what advertisement they would like to see on the computer screen.

“Media is going to be in real time,” he said.



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