Hulu Introduces Ad-Free Subscription Plan for $12 a Month

[4jasontv]

Where is the 30 second or the 2nd pre-roll add?

In the future I am guessing.

I appreciate how you feel (from previous posts) about assuming the worst from others. Maybe I am putting words in your mouth C DM, but it sounds like you are trying to discourage people from assuming if there is 1 ad today there will be 2 ads tomorrow. I've seen you make similar arguments that you shouldn't dislike someone for something they have yet to do. Fair enough.

How about disliking them for not using strong enough language to prevent them from making it two ads in the future? IF they have no intention of abusing their position, they should feel comfortable putting their reputation (that may be the wrong word) on the line.

 

[Izauze]

I do better than that I don't sign up at all.

Did I misunderstand your post? It sounds like you said yes they still have ads, and then spent the rest of the text justifying why it wasn't a big deal.

Lol. Internet people are funny.

 

[canuckRus]

This is why I steal my content... I would be glad to pay for service, but they keep screwing me at every turn. It's easier just to find free streams.

One answer to free streaming is the " Kodi 15 " download. Lots of instructions on YouTube. Best is by by The Geekazoid. Movies & TV series up the Wazoo @ NO COST, NO ADS!

 

[campyguy]

Just don't sign up through iTunes. I get that Apple takes a 30% cut for apps, but for media subscriptions like these it doesn't really make sense. Same with Spotify.

I see your point, however, I disagree, with a caveat.

Do buy through the iTS but also buy discounted iTS gift cards as I do - I regularly buy the cards from eBay or Staples that have been discounted 20% and never any less of a discount. I subscribe to Hulu Plus and am annoyed with the repetitive ads (same ad - over and over and over and over again), and will likely bump to the new option - the discounted gift cards get my "billed price" reduced to $11.20, which is worth it to me to lose the repetitive ads.

9to5Toys and Lifehacker advertise (ah, the irony) the discounted iTS/MAS gift cards when they're available.

 

[larrylaffer]

They're going to get sued for showing commercials in a "No Commercials" plan, and I'm going to laugh.

 

[autrefois]

What alternative would you suggest?

ridiculous, ludicrous, asinine, etc. A lot of people still associate the word "retarded" with mental disabilities. Unfortunately a lot of our insult words comes from belittling people with disabilities (dumb, stupid, lame, idiotic, etc.). Most of them have lost their original link to the disability they were trashing and most people wouldn't find them offensive, but "retarded" still has a very clear and hurtful stigma to it for many people.

 

[C DM]

In the future I am guessing.

I appreciate how you feel (from previous posts) about assuming the worst from others. Maybe I am putting words in your mouth C DM, but it sounds like you are trying to discourage people from assuming if there is 1 ad today there will be 2 ads tomorrow. I've seen you make similar arguments that you shouldn't dislike someone for something they have yet to do. Fair enough.

How about disliking them for not using strong enough language to prevent them from making it two ads in the future? IF they have no intention of abusing their position, they should feel comfortable putting their reputation (that may be the wrong word) on the line.

They can do that probably, but that's not typically language that gets included in these types of things. Again, there are certainly things they can do to make it better, but what I've been mainly getting at is that what has been announced is not bad at all, and certainly far from some sort of a disaster as being implied by various posts.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

ridiculous

Done. I have edited the post you quoted. You don't need to explain it to me - I immediately knew why you called me out on it, I just couldn't think of any alternative.

 

[campyguy]

One more bit. I opted to "change" my subscription last night to the ad-free version in the iTS, and found it available.

I'd read that the Apple version of this option would be $14, but the price that was presented to me was the same $11.99 price quoted for the non-Apple price. I selected it - my current "ad-supported" sub will run through to its end of 30 days (9/18); I just checked - the iTS shows the ad-free version is $11.99. So, cool!

With Netflix kind of sucking hard lately and also belonging to Amazon Prime, it's looking like I'll drop NF after Longmire drops and pick up NF after football season is over.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

The reason I signed up for Hulu Plus in the first place was because they were advertising access to this huge backlog of content. Now that backlog has disappeared and I can't even get into new shows after a few weeks because the episodes aren't available! Now they want me to pay more for no ads except for some ads on some shows that are more popular or newer, and might put some ads on future new shows? No thanks! The no-ad tier will eventually become the same as the ad-tier just like the Plus went back to just being Hulu except you pay. Hulu can go screw off. I'm to the point now where I just watch a year behind everyone else using Netflix and it doesn't bother me in the least aside from a few shows missing compared to Hulu.

This is exactly what I was thinking - they're going to take the 'frog in boiling water' approach: you know, start with only pre-and-post-roll ads (frog in tepid water); then increase to 2 pre- and 2 post-roll ads (frog is getting very warm); then maybe 1 in the middle (frog starts to think about jumping out of the pot, but it's too late!), and so on..until you're back to 20 minutes out of each hour devoted to advertising (frog is fully boiled). And you're paying more. As you mentioned, the exception shows can and will continue to grow over time, until probably the majority of them feature ads, certainly all of the popular shows.

This is in part because the content networks (one of whom, NBC Universal is a supposedly "silent" partner in Hulu) do not want to lose the unending cornucopia of money that is forced advertising blaring through your screens every 10-12 minutes. 24 hours per day. Subtract from this the limited seasonal viewing - this is all to discourage viewers from using the service! Sure, they'll be very happy to take your (our) money, but Hulu and their content 'partners' would prefer to have more advertising dollars via the networks (and streaming web if unavoidable due to consumer disinterest in watching over the air or cable broadcasts. This is why I won't subscribe and will wait for something better - or just watch the shows (later, if necessary) via Amazon or iTunes.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

One more bit. I opted to "change" my subscription last night to the ad-free version in the iTS, and found it available.

I'd read that the Apple version of this option would be $14, but the price that was presented to me was the same $11.99 price quoted for the non-Apple price. I selected it - my current "ad-supported" sub will run through to its end of 30 days (9/18); I just checked - the iTS shows the ad-free version is $11.99. So, cool!

With Netflix kind of sucking hard lately and also belonging to Amazon Prime, it's looking like I'll drop NF after Longmire drops and pick up NF after football season is over.

Has Longmire been a new season? I really liked that show. I keep Netflix, because even when there's nothing new that I want to watch I can space out to older favorite shows, or series which I never really watched. Plus the occasional movie or two. I really loved "John Dies At the End" -- I'd never heard of the book, or the movie -- discovered late one night on FL - fantastic and hilarious.

 

[campyguy]

Has Longmire been a new season? I really liked that show. I keep Netflix, because even when there's nothing new that I want to watch I can space out to older favorite shows, or series which I never really watched. Plus the occasional movie or two. I really loved "John Dies At the End" -- I'd never heard of the book, or the movie -- discovered late one night on FL - fantastic and hilarious.

Netflix picked up Longmire for a 4th season a bit ago, and yeah, I'm a major fan - I'd rather watch reruns of Longmire than most other programming (this came out earlier today: http://collider.com/longmire-season-4-robert-taylor-lou-diamond-phillips-talk-more-seasons/ - no spoilers!). Season 4 starts up on 9/10, so just a few more days!

NF is kind of letting me down a bit lately, what with letting Epix shows go and not being as assertive with their streaming catalog as they've been in the past. And, I'm a bit miffed that they killed the partnership with Lillyhammer's creators, so that show has died. I'm not giving up on NF, but with an ad-free Hulu and Prime's catalog it'll be hard to justify keeping NF year-round.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

Netflix picked up Longmire for a 4th season a bit ago, and yeah, I'm a major fan - I'd rather watch reruns of Longmire than most other programming (this came out earlier today: http://collider.com/longmire-season-4-robert-taylor-lou-diamond-phillips-talk-more-seasons/ - no spoilers!). Season 4 starts up on 9/10, so just a few more days!

NF is kind of letting me down a bit lately, what with letting Epix shows go and not being as assertive with their streaming catalog as they've been in the past. And, I'm a bit miffed that they killed the partnership with Lillyhammer's creators, so that show has died. I'm not giving up on NF, but with an ad-free Hulu and Prime's catalog it'll be hard to justify keeping NF year-round.

The problem for me with Prime is that it is unwatchable on my so-called "smart" tv due to the app (LG - Amazon) -- and now Amazon has discontinued the App on my LG tv. Which is fine, because it completely sucked. Almost never could I watch anything without errors, buffering, etc. And I have a super 100mbps internet connection. Netflix plays fine on the same tv over the same home wirelesss N network (around 300 - 450 mbps in my home). I have been reduced to watching Prime on my computer -- and that is only when there is something which doesn't exist anywhere else -- like the various new series pilots. The "Man in the High Castle" is going to be FABULOUS!

So, I'm just waiting to see what the new Apple TV is like next week (hopefully) before I make a decision about whether to go Roku or ATV.

Thanks for the good news about another(!) Longmire season! I'm excited - I'll be able to watch 3 and 4 now!

Edit: And frankly, anything built on Android concerns me due to the poor security inherent in that OS, not to mention how quickly patches are applied. This is one of the reasons why the FireTV stick does not appeal to me; and Chromcast seems inferior to the FireTV from a practical level (though perhaps without the same security risks).

 

[campyguy]

The problem for me with Prime is that it is unwatchable on my so-called "smart" tv due to the app (LG - Amazon) -- and now Amazon has discontinued the App on my LG tv. Which is fine, because it completely sucked. Almost never could I watch anything without errors, buffering, etc. And I have a super 100mbps internet connection. Netflix plays fine on the same tv over the same home wirelesss N network (around 300 - 450 mbps in my home). I have been reduced to watching Prime on my computer -- and that is only when there is something which doesn't exist anywhere else -- like the various new series pilots. The "Man in the High Castle" is going to be FABULOUS!

So, I'm just waiting to see what the new Apple TV is like next week (hopefully) before I make a decision about whether to go Roku or ATV.

Thanks for the good news about another(!) Longmire season! I'm excited - I'll be able to watch 3 and 4 now!

Edit: And frankly, anything built on Android concerns me due to the poor security inherent in that OS, not to mention how quickly patches are applied. This is one of the reasons why the FireTV stick does not appeal to me; and Chromcast seems inferior to the FireTV from a practical level (though perhaps without the same security risks).

Bummer about the smart TV Amazon app on your LG - a friend of mine has one and she hates it (the app platform), and given that LG seems to be all in with the WebOS you'll be lucky to see any updates coming from any other devs outside of LG. FWIW, the Tivo app is actually pretty nice and a bit nicer to use than the iOS app IMHO - I haven't had time to test out my new Fire Phone with Miracast (the 32GB unlocked version I picked up on that "Fire Sale" last week - there were lots of OS and app updates); it's on wifi-only now and I'll be picking up a Cricket SIM next week to try it out on the road.

FWIW, my take is to try a Roku 3 for Amazon Prime if Apple gets the short shrift with a dedicated app or some other means. Notice here that I'm not recommending a Fire tablet or phone - I'm the same way with Android, especially non-Nexus devices. Amazon did a pretty decent job or locking down their OS fork, but, it's still Android - nothing important will go through or on it. I'm hoping for the consummate Prime video experience on an Apple TV - given what they did with their iOS app and firing a bunch of dev staff this past week, I'm hopeful...

As to Longmire, the only bad news was that directed to my mom - a huge fan, but without internet access given where she lives. Seriously, go about 100 feet to the west and there's no cell service either! So, she and I will have to figure out how to get her a fix - I do have UL data with VZW for a SIM in an iPad, but there's literally no coverage there.

Two more bits. I'll have to check out The Man in the High Castle - your religious zeal in boosting it has me intrigued! And, I made some network recommendations to a friend who was griping about the same network issues as you are here and I've not heard any negative feedback from him since - I'll check in and find out if my tweaks worked and get back to you here or via PM. Gotta. Have. Our. Fix. Cheers!

 

[FriendlyMackle]

Bummer about the smart TV Amazon app on your LG - a friend of mine has one and she hates it (the app platform), and given that LG seems to be all in with the WebOS you'll be lucky to see any updates coming from any other devs outside of LG. FWIW, the Tivo app is actually pretty nice and a bit nicer to use than the iOS app IMHO - I haven't had time to test out my new Fire Phone with Miracast (the 32GB unlocked version I picked up on that "Fire Sale" last week - there were lots of OS and app updates); it's on wifi-only now and I'll be picking up a Cricket SIM next week to try it out on the road.

FWIW, my take is to try a Roku 3 for Amazon Prime if Apple gets the short shrift with a dedicated app or some other means. Notice here that I'm not recommending a Fire tablet or phone - I'm the same way with Android, especially non-Nexus devices. Amazon did a pretty decent job or locking down their OS fork, but, it's still Android - nothing important will go through or on it. I'm hoping for the consummate Prime video experience on an Apple TV - given what they did with their iOS app and firing a bunch of dev staff this past week, I'm hopeful...

As to Longmire, the only bad news was that directed to my mom - a huge fan, but without internet access given where she lives. Seriously, go about 100 feet to the west and there's no cell service either! So, she and I will have to figure out how to get her a fix - I do have UL data with VZW for a SIM in an iPad, but there's literally no coverage there.

Two more bits. I'll have to check out The Man in the High Castle - your religious zeal in boosting it has me intrigued! And, I made some network recommendations to a friend who was griping about the same network issues as you are here and I've not heard any negative feedback from him since - I'll check in and find out if my tweaks worked and get back to you here or via PM. Gotta. Have. Our. Fix. Cheers!

Thanks for the thoughtful response! I'm sorry that your mom can't get internet access - that really is ridiculous in this day, in the U.S.A. There's no excuse (other than corporate greed) for there being no available coverage in her area. It would probably subtract pennies from annual profits in billions earned for any or wireless (and what about satellite?) to cover her area at a reasonable cost.

 

[campyguy]

Thanks for the thoughtful response! I'm sorry that your mom can't get internet access - that really is ridiculous in this day, in the U.S.A. There's no excuse (other than corporate greed) for there being no available coverage in her area. It would probably subtract pennies from annual profits in billions earned for any or wireless (and what about satellite?) to cover her area at a reasonable cost.

She's with CenturyLink, the DSL in her area is bad. There's a narrow creek in her back yard - cable/broadband on the other side, slow DSL and satellite TV on her side. FWIW, Williams laid down fiber 3 years ago along her road - we can see the markers from her front yard, but there's no stub ups to tie into. If the wind is blowing the right way - literally - my VZW LTE connection is about 7-10 times faster than the DSL she can buy.

CL just got a $300M grant to improve rural service. We're not holding our breath! BTW, I see you're in NYC - she's from Staten Island, I'm from LI (Northport). She just left for home after hanging out with me and some friends! Cheers!

 

[RadioGaGa1984]

Lol. Internet people are funny.

Right back at ya.