Hulu Updates 'Hulu Plus' iOS App, Lowers Subscription Pricing

Cubsfan said:
How is this different than the $100/month cable subscriptions most people have?
Click to expand...

With cable subscriptions you get ALL the content, every episode of every show on every network, plus live sports and news. Most of that available in HD. Yes, you have to wait until they air at a certain time to watch, but with most people having time-shifting, multi-channel DVRs, plus on-demand content, it's not a big deal. Hulu's content selection is too spotty.
 
Cubsfan said:
How is this different than the $100/month cable subscriptions most people have?
Click to expand...
Not even sure what this means.

The reality is that half to more than half of most people's cable bills just goes to having broadband Internet access - without Internet, Hulu Plus isn't worth anything.

The next most expensive item on your cable bill after any equipment rental is probably ESPN - which Hulu doesn't cover either.

Add in to the above that my cable provider already provides free access to reruns as part of my other services.

Maybe the argument here is that Hulu Plus lets you access these shows while mobile, but I'd almost never use it for that. Anyplace I'd ever want to use Hulu Plus while mobile, the bandwidth is too low for simple web browsing let alone a full video stream.
 
SolRayz said:
Agreed. That's why I cut out my cable also. I'm so sick of paying for the massive amount of advertisement we endure. The internet has become such a huge resource of free and commercial free content that traditional cablevision has become obsolete in my view.
Click to expand...

But you will miss the next round of great political commercials.
 
pmjoe said:
Not even sure what this means.

The reality is that half to more than half of most people's cable bills just goes to having broadband Internet access - without Internet, Hulu Plus isn't worth anything.

The next most expensive item on your cable bill after any equipment rental is probably ESPN - which Hulu doesn't cover either.

Add in to the above that my cable provider already provides free access to reruns as part of my other services.

Maybe the argument here is that Hulu Plus lets you access these shows while mobile, but I'd almost never use it for that. Anyplace I'd ever want to use Hulu Plus while mobile, the bandwidth is too low for simple web browsing let alone a full video stream.
Click to expand...

exactly man. lots of people act like they cut their bill and all the $100 is gone, when in reality they still have internet to pay for. i pay $92w/tax for digital cable/internet through time warner cable. $92 WITH internet and digital cable and everything we need is a great deal IMO.
 
roland.g said:
I only care about 4.2 right now but having the better original Apple TV that has storage space on it, the one thing it can't do is stream video to my tv from my iOS device. I want other 4.2 features. And I've always essentially had Airplay for audio and full control over my entire media library through my Apple TV. Canceling cable/satellite for me for something like a Hulu/Netflix will never be worth it unless there comes a day that I can stream essentially any live sports event by some means. And sorry but access to ESPN3.com isn't going to cut it.
Click to expand...

I'll wager that the new ATV will end up blowing the old one away once 4.2 hits and other obvious features like applications are added to the box.
 
talmy said:
There is plenty of greed that goes into the cable bill. Greed of local stations that charge cable companies to deliver OTA content that consumers can receive for free with an antenna. Greed of satellite providers that only sell packages of channels that customers can't pick and choose which are forced on the basic tier. Greed of municipalities that charge the cable companies for running cables through your property. Greed of the cable companies that basically have had a monopolistic position.
Click to expand...
Those local stations would probably not be in business providing "free" content if it were not in part for some of the fees they collect.

Municipalities don't charge for running cables through your property - the municipalities own the road right of ways, you don't.
 
iberroa said:
It's still too expensive. You can't charge close to Netflix prices and still have ads. They'd have a huge hit if it were 3.99. It's all about quantity. :( :apple:
Click to expand...

You can when the shows you're serving were just broadcast the night before. With Netflix you have to wait until the next season for the current season to become available.
 
Surf Monkey said:
You can when the shows you're serving were just broadcast the night before. With Netflix you have to wait until the next season for the current season to become available.
Click to expand...

wow you and i actually agree on something!

i hear blockbuster is trying to do the same thing here with providing shows/movies that are just released where the advantage is over netflix. look at netflix streaming, the content on that for movies is a complete joke.
 
but it still has commercials? i can't watch stuff with commercials anymore, I'm definitely not paying monthly for it.
 
Last edited:
rmhop81 said:
look at netflix streaming, the content on that for movies is a complete joke.
Click to expand...

No it isn't. Netflix currently has the most comprehensive collection of streamable movies of any of the services. They also have more current films in their catalogue than any of the others. It's true that they lack day/date with DVD, but that will come at some point in the not distant future.
 
convergent said:
How can someone be willing to pay $60-100 a month for cable TV, which has FAR more ads than Hulu Plus, and then complain that $8 a month is too much? Am I missing something here? The total ad time in Hulu is probably 1/4 as much as the same program via cable or OTA, and the cost you are paying for the content is at least 10x.

A combination of OTA, Hulu Plus, and Netflix makes a pretty inexpensive and compelling case to cut the cable cord.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I already cut my cable long ago and have been very happy with just OTA channels and Netflix. Adding Hulu Plus would just make my setup better. Ads I don't mind, I see paying the $8 for Hulu Plus almost as paying for a sort of ultra basic cable. What I'm just not sure of is if Hulu Plus has enough current content to justify it. As aforementioned, its selection still seems very spotty to me. Also, given that I already have an EyeTV to use as a DVR with OTA channels, I mostly want access to current cable-only programming, and I can't seem to find much on Hulu.
 
I would rather use my Slingbox with DVR and Air Video from my Macbook Pro,

$3.99 might make me reconsider
 
They used to have a lot of content to be watched for free (with ads of course) but when they introduced the Hulu plus all that free content disappeared.

Does hulu plus have ads or ad free?
 
It's such an obvious and short-sighted money grab. Really a stupid decision on Hulu's part. Hulu should be in total land-grab mode, not money grab mode. Hulu was one of the first systems to offer this type of broad, legal streaming tv service, and it's been a hit so far. But right now they should be pouring resources into making it a service that gets as widely adopted as possible and fully integrated into people's lives. Later, after hulu has attained major dominance in the industry (which will grow much larger each quarter), only THEN should they start trying to make significant money from it, because by that time they'll have economies of scale bringing their costs down, and they'll have massive industry weight allowing them to get shows for cheap which would also bring their costs down again. At that point they'll have an enormous user base and low per-user costs, so at that point they could make money easily by simply ad revenue alone or possibly charging a premium fee of a couple of dollars per month. But that should come LATER. Right now Hulu should be focusing on getting onto as many screens as possible. Their current strategy is gonna relegate them to Yahoo status - an early front runner who could've dominated the whole industry who instead made poor choices that relegated them to a tiny niche.
 
blackpond said:
Sorry, but you're WAY OFF. The winning price is $4.95. Come to think of it, $1.95 would be insanely great. Yes, $1.95 is the winning price!

;)
Click to expand...

Still off. Try,

Gold Service, full access to content without ads for only 9.99 per month that does not expire
Silver Service, full access to content without ads for only 4.99 per month that does expire
Bronze Service, full access to content with ads for only .99 per month that expires.
Free Service, limited access to content with ads for free that expires (basically what you have now)
 
I have been a Hulu Plus member since pretty early on in the preview. For the most part I think it's a great service. However, I think that they need to be continually amping up the content. Lately I've seen more things taken away (First seasons of Glee and Modern Family) then added.

I do think Hulu is treating early members well. Here is the email text I got.

Thanks for being a subscriber to Hulu Plus during our preview. We've been hard at work refining our existing applications, expanding the device coverage, and extending our content lineup. We're excited to announce that today, Hulu Plus is officially launching out of preview to anyone in the U.S. for just $7.99/month.

Since we're now offering Hulu Plus at a lower price than during the preview, your subscription fee has been lowered to $7.99/month, and on your next billing cycle, we'll also automatically credit your account with $2 for each month you've been a subscriber. In addition, we're now offering a 1-week free trial for all new subscribers, so we'll be issuing you an additional $2 credit since the free trial wasn't in place during the preview.

We'd also like to offer you the chance to earn more free time on Hulu Plus by helping us spread the word about the service. For each friend who uses your referral to join Hulu Plus, we'll give you two additional weeks for free, up to 20 weeks total. Each of your referrals will also receive two weeks free on their first month's subscription. For more details on the program and to invite your friends

I think this offer is pretty generous, and I have to say that I appreciated it. My recomendations for Hulu Plus is to have extensively more content than Hulu. It's pretty annoying to know that there are shows that I could access without paying but can't get to them via PS3 or iPad...this needs to be fixed. There should also be way more shows that have every season all episodes and not just "current seasons". Because how many people want every episode of Desperate Housewives or Ugly Betty? Why not have all of Alias, ER, etc...

Anyways, I'm still a happy user and am eager to see more content pop up...
 
Lovely move on Hulu's part...the app is great and for me, 9.99 was worth it. And now 7.99!(and crediting me for the 9.99 months I paid) is amazing.

Hulu is the future of TV, networks should just come around.

TV is everywhere now(iPhone, iPad, TV(through a bunch of devices, I use PS3) and on your computer. Its amazing!
 
AkronElliott said:
But you will miss the next round of great political commercials.
Click to expand...

Not if you use Hulu Plus you won't. During the election Hulu was able to serve location specific campaign ads in their shows. I watched ads for all my local races through the last two weeks of the campaign on practically every show I streamed via Hulu Plus.

zap2 said:
TV is everywhere now(iPhone, iPad, TV(through a bunch of devices, I use PS3) and on your computer. Its amazing!
Click to expand...

Exactly. TV is no longer TV. It's simply dramatic or documentary content that can and should be displayed on any screen the consumer wants. Sadly, Hulu is one of the prime offenders when it comes to failing to understand this concept. That's why they insist on targeting specific content to their Web service and different content to their Hulu Plus applications. It's a dopy move on their part and they need to fix it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top