Hulu launches subscription service

Posted at 3:30 PM on June 29, 2010 by Drew Geraets (8 Comments)
Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Media, Tech

Hulu has announced the launch of its Plus service, offering access to more episodes on more devices -- including the iPhone, iPad and PlayStation 3 -- for $9.99 a month.

But somewhat surprisingly, the subscription fee does not do away with the intermittent ads.

What? We have to pay for access to our favorite shows and watch ads? What is this, cable? Kind of, actually.

Hulu ranked second behind Google/YouTube for the number of videos watched in May with 1.2 billion, according to comScore.

Will you subscribe, even if you already have a Netflix subscription?

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Comments (8)

I'm certainly thinking about axing cable and going exclusively with Hulu and Netflix. If only they could stream live sports....

Posted by Ryan | June 29, 2010 3:59 PM

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All the more reason the Comcast/NBC merger SHOULDN'T go through. Or the Net (non)Neutrality bill.

Sure, you cut your Comcast cable TV subscription...but you're still paying them for internet access. Think they're going to stand idly by while you pay far less? Think again...

Posted by Tyler | June 29, 2010 4:02 PM

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No interest here. The two shows I actually watch on purpose are available on-demand through my "Basic" Comcast plan. I rarely catch them at broadcast time. $8.99 a month to Netflix gets me the older versions of these TV shows and DVD movies to boot, some of them instantly via my WII. I would still need Comcast for my broadband, so the money I spend with Huu would have to be noticably less than the amount I spend with Comcast for TV.

I think Hulu would be completely redundant for me.

Posted by John P. | June 29, 2010 5:08 PM

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Nope, I only watch TV over the internet, already pay for Netflix, and "ain't nothin" going to make me pay for 2 different services.

Posted by Curt C. | June 29, 2010 6:05 PM

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This iPhone owning, iPad using, no-cable subscribing girl is all in. At $9.99 a month it's a steal compared to cable plus the commercial breaks are only 30 seconds long and tailored to my preferences.

Posted by Judy Grundstrom | June 29, 2010 6:22 PM

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Judy again - I forgot to say I already have a Netflix subscription. The Netflix app for my iPad is so fantastic that it actually makes me want to get the Hulu subscription even MORE so I can watch Hulu on my iPad.

Posted by Judy Grundstrom | June 29, 2010 6:59 PM

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When the USA switched to Digital all the TV's in my house went dark. Because of all the stupid political ads, just way to many advertisments in general.. and the exceptionally high numbers of programs that really were just plain junk. I enjoy Netfilx and plan to stick with them... I get what I want, when I want it. and no commercials. Pay for TV and ads? ya right.

Posted by miko | June 30, 2010 12:48 AM

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We will not subscribe, although this is not because of Hulu, but because of our internet provider. Frontier Telecommunications is all about false advertising, providing a fraction of the bandwidth that its captive audience, rural internet users, pay for. They are protected by a disclaimer that states that they are not bound by any of their own statements of average bandwidth as put forth on service agreements. It is rare for there to be adequate bandwidth for us to watch Netflix movies (we have a membership), although we can often watch Hulu programs with frequent pauses for buffering. Frontier plans to put a cap on bandwidth use soon which will limit users to little more bandwidth ( a 5 GB cap) than what is used to watch a single Netflix movie, PER MONTH. Beyond that limited amount, Frontier plans to charge per kilobit for additional bandwidth. This is what keeps me from subscribing from any high-bandwidth service such as Hulu, although I would do so if I had a proper Internet provider. Frontier is gouging because they have a monopoly on infrastructure in many, many rural areas.

Posted by Deborah | June 30, 2010 8:38 AM

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