Hulu Raising Prices for On-Demand Plans to Push Subscribers to Bundle

[kbeez34]

I don't quite understand the price hike for Hulu... But with the rising cost of content? Greed? Disney pushing the bundle on people? Where on the other hand, they frequently have the Black Friday 1.99 a month the last couple years - and the "oh you're canceling? how about 2.99 a month for the next 6 months?" if you were paying full price, it's like they throw this service at your feet for less than the now steep 6.99 a month fee.

And for everyone like zomgwtfbbq is ESPN+ good for - I know they just signed a deal over the summer with the NHL (NBC broadcast rights expired/also good bye NBCSN) and NHL is doing away with NHL.TV where you would pay $180 a season for out of market games... now that's just on ESPN+ for 6.99, also just upped a dollar a month as of August Which now combined with the Hulu hike, makes the Disney bundle a no-brainer if you use two out of three services. So if you're a hockey fan - I think it makes a good deal of sense.

 

[EM2013]

Right? I thought competition was supposed to lower prices not let everyone raise them together. Where is the government regulation? We need to protect the consumers from this blatant price fixing and collusion going on between streaming services.

As long as people keep paying, they’ll keep doing it, with the same ol “offer more content” excuse. At what point is it enough?

 

[CoMoMacUser]

And for everyone like zomgwtfbbq is ESPN+ good for - I know they just signed a deal over the summer with the NHL (NBC broadcast rights expired/also good bye NBCSN) and NHL is doing away with NHL.TV where you would pay $180 a season for out of market games... now that's just on ESPN+ for 6.99

Good to know. Hockey is the only sport I care about.

 

[azentropy]

I was a Hulu no-ads subscriber for many years but stopped service a couple of months ago. Why I liked it was for being able to watch current ABC/NBC/FOX shows without ads. There were a couple of Hulu shows I liked but even those there seemed to be a production lag besides it seemingly is taking forever for The Orville to drop. I'll pick it back up again in the Fall when the shows I like start the new seasons.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

I use Hulu for live tv… anyone have a better service?

I use and like YouTube TV but they have been raising their prices in recent years too. Basically just becoming another cable company. Though I still like not having to pay a rental box fee.

 

[SFjohn]

You don’t have to tell Timmy twice.

Apple Reportedly Increasing iPhone 13 Prices to Compensate for Increased Chip Production Cost

Apple is reportedly planning to increase the price of the upcoming iPhone 13 series as a way to compensate for the increased costs of chip production...

www.macrumors.com

Children who never grow up.

 

[Tech198]

I always like these price-hikes.... Its "If we increase slowly by $1 perhaps no one will notice"

We notice

 

[Michael Scrip]

I use and like YouTube TV but they have been raising their prices in recent years too. Basically just becoming another cable company. Though I still like not having to pay a rental box fee.

Exactly. That's where they get ya.

And if you want to watch on two TVs... you need to rent two boxes. And sometimes it costs more if you want DVR.

But even though these new "Internet Cable" packages like Hulu Live and YoutubeTV are $65 a month and rising... you get capabilities that might be better than being chained to a box and TV. Like watching on an iPad or being able to use the same service while your travelling.

Another place they get you is if you get your internet from the cable company. Sometimes it's cheaper to just get channels from them since they charge a higher prices for "internet only" packages.

But then you're back to needed hardware boxes, DVR, etc if you get channels from them.

It's definitely a balancing act. Everyone needs to pay attention to what they are paying for and what they actually need.

Frankly... I don't know how much longer the idea of "this show plays at 8:30pm on Tuesday" is gonna last.

I think people are becoming more accustomed to watching their shows on-demand, whenever and wherever. The idea of "network TV at a certain time" seems antiquated.

I'm not saying scheduled TV is gonna disappear tomorrow... or even in 5 years. News and sports are always the counter-example.

But as more and more people are happy watching original programming from on-demand internet services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney, Apple, etc... the concept of the "channel grid" becomes less desirable.

Fun times ahead!

 

[Kabeyun]

If this had been a story about Apple raising the price of anything there'd already be 11 pages of outrage and indignation.

 

[sw1tcher]

Was this available for new customers only (as in I should cancel the month before) or was it available for extensions of current subs?

It was only for new customers. But all it takes is a (new) email address and credit card that's not on file.

 

[NetMage]

Don’t like their bundle with ESPN+ - don’t watch sports except racing. Don’t like the lack of annual pricing for Hulu without Ads. Will probably still get Hulu No ads monthly since many movies I want to re-watch seem to be on Hulu, just not for all year.

 

[SurferPup]

I only sign up for the ad free service on the Cyber Monday deal each year for USD2 previously USD1. I don't watch much of hulu content as it sucks however easy to add Showtime, Cinemax, HBO or Starz for a month to binge watch content then move onto a another streaming service. When I watch hulu TV programmes, I skip over the advertisements. You Americans have a $hitload of pharmaceutical ads and the side effects are enough to discourage me to pop one of those pills as your original symptoms appear to less severe. Unsure if I will start a new subscription this November as I am able to access these via TV+ as they have Paramount and AMC plus I love the Shudder content.

 

[HVDynamo]

I've kept an ad-free subscription to Hulu going for several years, just out of habit - we don't seem to watch it that much anymore. Think I'll be moving to the "subscribe long enough to watch what I want, then unsubscribe" model I've been using for other services (like I've done with All Access / Paramount Plus / Star-Trek-orama / Whatever it's called this month).

Hulu does let you Pause a subscription for up to 3 months.

 

[MacBH928]

Its funny and ironic how the consumer is sensitive to price increases. Raise price from $5 to $8 , people go crazy and start boycotting. Release a new service at $12/m , hoards of people jump on ship.

You mean like Cable TV?

Corporate greed never ceases to amaze. Charge more for the same service, year after year. Break up bundles to only come back to bundles. Eliminate ads to only reintroduce ads.

a capitalist will sell you the rope you will hang him with

 

[MacAddict1978]

What are you saying? I think I use Hulu as much as HBO Max. Is something wrong with me?

Per the article, "One of Hulu’s big selling points is that it’s the only service that gives viewers next-day access to current shows from each of the major U.S. broadcast networks." I use it for FX and NBC shows as well as some NBC, SNL, vintage stuff etc.

It's not you. It's the cheap tightwads crying over a dollar who are on other forums crying Hulu needs more original content that costs money to make. They haven't price hiked in a LONG time.

Hulu is a really great option, especially for a cord cutter. Outside of CBS, you're getting a lot of content, back catalogue, originals, movies, etc. for that price and now the entire Fox Library. I do agree with posts about the ads. You do see repetitive ads, but I usually use that time to play a time waster game on my phone, bio break, beverage, so I don't care.

If you were paying for Peacock, then something would be wrong with you.

 

[A Japem]

Interesting. I pay for Disney+ ($8) and Hulu ad free ($12) so it was the same price whether or not I signed up for the bundle. Being as I have zero interest in ESPN, I pay for them separate…. Now they are charging more separately so it would be cheaper to sign up for the bundle with ESPN. I guess I understand but I’m literally never going to watch ESPN. Kinda annoying to sign up for the bundle but whatevs. I guess that’s

Given what ESPN did to the cost of Cable in the early 90s/00s I have zero interest in supporting them in any capacity. I'll just pay the extra $1 for Ad-Free Hulu and Disney+ subscription.

 

[MacBH928]

I only sign up for the ad free service on the Cyber Monday deal each year for USD2 previously USD1. I don't watch much of hulu content as it sucks however easy to add Showtime, Cinemax, HBO or Starz for a month to binge watch content then move onto a another streaming service. When I watch hulu TV programmes, I skip over the advertisements. You Americans have a $hitload of pharmaceutical ads and the side effects are enough to discourage me to pop one of those pills as your original symptoms appear to less severe. Unsure if I will start a new subscription this November as I am able to access these via TV+ as they have Paramount and AMC plus I love the Shudder content.

how are you watching if you are not american? all these services are US only

 

[FreedomPenguin]

I am not quite sure but I have Netflix, Hulu, Disney, apple, and I've never paid for a single one. friends have logged into my tv and left them on there. for like 4 years now. Lol don't ask don't tell

 

[c5z]

Just canceled my Hulu. Screw them.