Video content provider Hulu, who has led the way with providing legal free video content over the Internet, has decided that they need to get paid. The site, which has become one of the premier destinations for mainly television show content, is going to start in 2010 moving at least some content to a “paywall” according to reports.

Previously, Hulu’s content was free, but used an ad-supported revenue model that apparently is not generating enough actual revenue. The company has not detailed its actual plan on how it plans to charge for content or if the content that they will be charging for will be advertising free. It seems that there are still a lot more questions than answers at this point about how the company will get customers to pay for the content and what the customers will get for the money that they pay.

With comments suggesting that it is time for users to start playing for broadcast content online, the news is not likely to be popular. Our sources suggest that it is likely that at least not all of the free content will go behind the “paywall,” but instead the ad-supported content will remain and a new “premium” tier will be established that will be paid based on a subscription. It is likely that the company may also elect to delay the release of some new content for several weeks before making it available on the ad-supported free tier.

One thing that Hulu will have to do if it starts charging for premium content is make it available on more platforms giving viewers other ways to view the content. Currently, Hulu is only available inside a Web browser. It is likely that the company would need to partner with other platform providers such as TiVo, Microsoft, Sony, and Roku, for example, to get their content more widely available. In addition, Hulu will need to make their content available outside the U.S. and the company has already announced plans to do just that in the second half of 2010.

It seems that News Corp., who is one of the most heavily invested partners in Hulu service, has been the most vocal about wanting to change the Hulu model to generate more revenue. News Corp. has been at the forefront in a movement that favors consumers paying for Internet-based content.