Hulu Planning Live Cable TV Service With Partners Including Disney and Fox

[MacRumors]

Streaming service Hulu is said to be working on a new subscription model that would provide customers with cable-style access to popular broadcast television networks.

In a report by The Wall Street Journal, sources close to the plan said the company's move would directly introduce Hulu as "a competitor to traditional pay-TV providers," in addition to streaming-only services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Hulu's current launch estimate for the cable-like service is sometime early in 2017, and a few partners are already mentioning interest in the program. Disney and Fox are said to be close to signing agreements to provide "many of their channels" to Hulu and its subscribers on the live platform. Some of their networks include ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel, Fox's basic broadcast channels, Fox News, and FX.

The company's ultimate goal with the new service may disappoint cord-cutters looking for a complete replacement for their cable box, as those close to Hulu's plans mentioned it "isn't looking to offer all the hundreds of channels found in the traditional cable bundle." Still, Hulu is seeking other partners in addition to Disney and Fox, who are both co-owners of Hulu.

Hulu sees an opportunity to pitch its planned service to the more than 10 million people who already subscribe to its on-demand service. Consumers don't need to be an existing Hulu subscriber to sign up for the new service, which has yet to be named.

In addition to live TV, the unnamed service is rumored to provide users with a cloud-based DVR, letting them record shows and set scheduled tapings similar to current offerings by cable providers. Due to all of these prime features, the current estimated cost of Hulu's live TV plan would be $40 per month, according to Sanford C. Bernstein media analyst Todd Juenger. That price was said to be "in the ballpark" by a Hulu executive.

Netflix can be relatively quick in getting up full seasons of recently-aired shows after their finales launch, but it largely depends on the cable network and even then it can be a few weeks to months until they're available on the streaming platform. Hulu has always been ahead of its rivals in providing users access to recently aired TV episodes, launching them one at a time a day after they air, but its new plan would go one step further and let subscribers watch specific TV channels live.

As more customers leave behind cable companies, streaming services are becoming increasingly interested in standalone TV packages such as the one Hulu is looking into launching. Premium channels like Showtime and HBO already have their own specific services, and Apple was even attempting to get a similar $30-$40 web-based TV package launched last year, but failed deals with networks caused the company to put its plans on hold.

Article Link: Hulu Planning Live Cable TV Service With Partners Including Disney and Fox

 

[hemanwomanhater]

Wasn't aware Apple abandoned those plans. Best of luck to Hulu in dealing with the content providers!

 

[ButteryScrollin]

Apple TV app + reliable Cloud DVR and i'm in.

 

[oneMadRssn]

At first I thought, why would anyone pay almost 3x or 4x more than the current Hulu offering just for access to live shows, when almost all those same shows are available a day after they initially air on Hulu?

Then I got worried that this might mean the less expensive plan is going away, or will be significantly changed. I really hope it isn't. The $13/month for commercial-free Hulu is great!

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Give me: Comedy Central, E!, Food Network, HGTV, ABC, Fox, and CBS, and I'll give you $30/month.

Throw in HBO and Netflix and I'll give you $50/month.

 

[ACE83]

I still don't understand why people want live tv (other than sports?). Just give me everything, on demand, streaming, at all times. I don't need a cloud DVR, that's just something else to manage. I am tired of "thinking" about TV. Let me add shows I like to a watchlist accessible on all devices with badges when a new show is available. Seems simple to me? What Hulu is doing now is almost there.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

Wasn't aware Apple abandoned those plans. Best of luck to Hulu in dealing with the content providers!

I love Hulu, and I think they are already doing a good job with content. They have a lot of good networks with good content on Hulu. I hope this works out. I am afraid they are going to keep bundling things and increasing prices though. As long as they make it optional tiers I will be happy.

 

[mattopotamus]

oh so cable

I actually like the "on-demand" style of netflix, hbo now, etc. Isn't live TV a step backwards? It is cable, just not from the cable company.

 

[hemanwomanhater]

I love Hulu, and I think they are already doing a good job with content. They have a lot of good networks with good content on Hulu. I hope this works out. I am afraid they are going to keep bundling things and increasing prices though. As long as they make it optional tiers I will be happy.

Agreed. I'm on Hulu way more than I am on Netflix, truth be told. I like the $12/month no-commercials plan a lot.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

oh so cable

I actually like the "on-demand" style of netflix, hbo now, etc. Isn't live TV a step backwards? It is cable, just not from the cable company.

The cable company is the worst part of cable.

 

[WordsmithMR]

This will not bring me back. After being a customer for so long, their apps are no longer usable on my living room devices. Their reps say this is a known issue with Optimum cable... But they haven't bothered fixing it and it is almost a month. Now they forced this Watchlist which is garbage. I cancelled my service and have moved on to PSVue. Sure it is pricier, but it works and it is live television with DVR (essentially everything listed above that Hulu is looking to do)

 

[TurboPGT!]

So, why would I want Live again? So I can go back to watching commercials? No thanks.

That is obviously the entire motivator behind this. With exception of sports, which I already pay for through a separate App, there is no such thing as "Live" TV. Just "the first time this has ever aired" TV.

I can wait until the next day to watch it, when I'm ready to watch it, and without any commercials.

Hulu, this is a fail before it even gets off the ground.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

Agreed. I'm on Hulu way more than I am on Netflix, truth be told. I like the $12/month no-commercials plan a lot.

I am cheap, I kept the commercials, I don't find them that intrusive. Though some shows have way more than others.

 

[marddin]

I still don't understand why people want live tv (other than sports?). Just give me everything, on demand, streaming, at all times. I don't need a cloud DVR, that's just something else to manage. I am tired of "thinking" about TV. Let me add shows I like to a watchlist accessible on all devices with badges when a new show is available. Seems simple to me? What Hulu is doing now is almost there.

Can you imagine "subscribing" to a specific show and just have one unified experience with badges or alerts like you said, notifying you when you have a new episode available? I would pay top dollar for this.

 

[Howyalikdemapls]

I still don't understand why people want live tv (other than sports?). Just give me everything, on demand, streaming, at all times. I don't need a cloud DVR, that's just something else to manage. I am tired of "thinking" about TV. Let me add shows I like to a watchlist accessible on all devices with badges when a new show is available. Seems simple to me? What Hulu is doing now is almost there.

I'm right there with you. A cloud based DVR seems ridiculous. They already have these tv shows in digital files, and then they stream them to us, and allow us to tell them to re-record their own files and hold them on their servers to re-stream them to us? Can't we just cut out all the re-recording garbage? The whole purpose of a local DVR was because we didn't have the option to choose on-demand streaming. On-demand streaming is why Netflix and Hulu have been so successful. I imagine it's too expensive and complicated to simply allow us unlimited access to every TV show in existence, which is why Netflix and Hulu have had limited selection, but this new expensive live-TV experience is everything we've been trying to move away from.

 

[macs4nw]

The company's ultimate goal with the new service may disappoint cord-cutters looking for a complete replacement for their cable box, as those close to Hulu's plans mentioned it "isn't looking to offer all the hundreds of channels found in the traditional cable bundle." Still, Hulu is seeking other partners in addition to Disney and Fox, who are both co-owners of Hulu.

Precisely what many consumers don't want, hundreds of channels, most of which we don't watch. Many have expressed a desire for customizable channel line-ups. So if Hulu can succeed in getting more content providers on board, it has the potential to become exactly what the cord cutters have been clamoring for. I have my doubt though that under that scenario, when all is said and done, we'll save any money on our entertainment budget.

 

[TurboPGT!]

Can you imagine "subscribing" to a specific show and just have one unified experience with badges or alerts like you said, notifying you when you have a new episode available? I would pay top dollar for this.

If there were no ads, Yes. If there are ads, No.

 

[jlc1978]

It will be interesting to see how the cable ISPs respond. ATT UVerse lifts the data cap on their internet service if you subscribe to their cable offerings; so I could see them enforcing caps in order to make up for lost tV subscription revenue with increased data use fees.

 

[boast]

The whole point of doing IPTV is to unbundle the channels to pay for what you want. For something that costs $40-50 a month, I don't see how IPTV is better than regular cable.

 

[jayducharme]

Once again, as long as cable companies also control your broadband Internet access, this is a non-starter. With Comcast now moving to a metered model and also making Internet access more expensive if you don't also take their cable package, Hulu's proposal would be more costly in the end.

 

[mattopotamus]

The cable company is the worst part of cable.

I always hear this, but I have never had a problem with cable companies. I don't know maybe I read the agreement and realize after "x" amount of months the price will go up. Hell most do nights and weekend appointments too. Most complaints I see are with prices, which is pretty clear if people would read. You get x, y, and z for free for 12 months and then we will rape you. It is pretty clear.

I do not have cable b.c the shows I watch are all on the premium channels or netflix, but people who need local stations, disney, espn, etc probably make out better with cable.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

This could be the best option yet. First "unconnected" plan I've seen that would entice me.

A cloud based DVR seems ridiculous.

Don't knock it till you've tried it. I use DTV's version with the iOS app and its great when traveling and even waiting around.

 

[BeSweeet]

"The company's ultimate goal with the new service may disappoint cord-cutters looking for a complete replacement for their cable box."

So far, PlayStation Vue is the closest thing we have, but even it has cable-like restrictions (can't view outside of home, no desktop support, extremely limited mobile support, among others). I'll stick with cable + Slingbox.

 

[KdParker]

The cable company is the worst part of cable.

Not really. It looks like the cost will be the same and a la carte choosing of channels will never be an option.

This is just the same old cable options/cost with the added cost of the internet.

 

[mattopotamus]

This could be the best option yet. First "unconnected" plan I've seen that would entice me.



Don't knock it till you've tried it. I use DTV's version with the iOS app and its great when traveling and even waiting around.

As a whole the cable companies are stepping up their game. X1 from comcast is really great from a user standpoint. The voice controls are better than my ATV, and the Picture quality is close to direcTV.