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Hulu Updates 'Hulu Plus' iOS App, Lowers Subscription Pricing
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Those sentiments reflect mine. I wish Apple had a subscription service and I hope for a future where Hulu fails and its content deals get snapped up by Netflix. Unless something changes drastically next year, I think Netflix is in the driver's seat to become the de-facto streaming service. The only thing that could change that is if someone lands a deal to distribute local news and live sports as part of their one-price subscription. If Netflix had current TV episodes from all the major network and cable (premium and basic) channels as well as local news and live sports, I'd pay $100 for it per month without batting an eye.
Hulu is owned by the TV networks, it's not some kids starting a business after smoking a bong. and they are serving a niche
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I will sign up for Hulu Plus when it's added to the new Apple TV. I'm not paying $8 a month to watch TV on a computer screen.
I will sign up for Hulu Plus when it's added to the new Apple TV. I'm not paying $8 a month to watch TV on a computer screen.
the $100 a month cable bill also includes internet and unlimited nationwide phone service.
if i were to cut cable i would still pay $40 or so for broadband internet, $20 a month for netflix and Hulu and another $30 a month for a better cell phone plan with unlimited calling.
same amount of money except i get a lot more content with cable. and for those of us with kids the cartoon selection on netflix and hulu is pretty bad
i'd probably dump cable if i was single since i don't watch a lot of TV, but with 2 kids and a wife who likes all the pop shows like Friends, AI and the dancing shows i have to have it
Is the Hulu Plus player any different from the regular Hulu player? Because it sucks. That is almost a bigger issue to me than the ads at this point. Again, when compared to Netflix, the Hulu player just doesn't match up. Missing good features, includes dumb features, won't stay full screen, etc.
Hulu International PLEASE!
Which leads me to wonder, is there anything like Hotspot Shield for the iPad? Even so, when I've used Hotspot shield in the past to get around Hulu's international blockade, the speed was very, very slow at times. It became so bad I stopped using it a number of months ago.
I wish this were true too because I current live in Japan. I couldn't care less about waiting for Hulu to give me "international content." The entire reason to have Hulu is so I can watch what I otherwise could not outside the USA!
Which leads me to wonder, is there anything like Hotspot Shield for the iPad? Even so, when I've used Hotspot shield in the past to get around Hulu's international blockade, the speed was very, very slow at times. It became so bad I stopped using it a number of months ago.
Ok, today I send a payment to Verizon FiOS of 222.00 that includes all the premium channels and cable ... Also Internet.
If I decide to have just the basic and pay hulu and netflix, it will be better and more logical than the deal I got now?
If I decide to have just the basic and pay hulu and netflix, it will be better and more logical than the deal I got now?
Glad you are here to teach us all on whether or not Hulu is profitable. Sounds like hind part talk to me. Either way, Hulu needs to get a clue on what is attractive to this target market instead of fishing from both ends of the pole. Have ads and make it free, or have no ads and charge a fee. Pretty simple.
1. We can DVR that content and skip it.
2. That is the *old* business model, to which many if not most of us were grandfathered into by childhood and adolescence.
This is the *new* business model, and it's in its infancy. Therefore consumers have the ability, perhaps for the first time, to shape that industry in much more significant ways than with the old model. Look at it as, the old operating contract has expired, and a new one is up for negotiation by all parties. And those consumers that are willing to pay for ad-free products are simply negotiating on the new model's contract. And they're negotiating for more.
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nope the ads are still there. I would much rather pay the original $9.99 and say 2 ads off the top and one break in the middle or even all the ads at the top. or even pay more like $14.99 and no ads at all.
Everything about Hulu and Hulu Plus is awesome, except the most important thing, the programming. The website is okay, even though it's still missing many seasons and episodes of most programs.
However, the iPad and iPhone apps are ridiculous. More than half of the shows I'm subscribed to are listed as 'web only' on the iPad and iPhone Hulu Plus.
However, the iPad and iPhone apps are ridiculous. More than half of the shows I'm subscribed to are listed as 'web only' on the iPad and iPhone Hulu Plus.
Okay, I just tried the new version of the Hulu Plus app and it still does NOT allow TV out from the iPad. Thus, the service (unlike the Netflix app) is still limited to the small iPad screen. This makes me wonder what is going to happen with AirPlay, I'd guess that it will be blocked (or non-functional) on Hulu Plus.
As for the price reduction, that's nice but I won't pay $8/month for the random and very seldom opportunity to watch TV while mobile, it has to be offered on my big-screen TV -- which thankfully it is on the Sony PS3, so I'm keeping my Hulu subscription for that reason alone).
Given the ability to watch Hulu Plus on a regular TV I'd say that the new price is a relative bargain if you're not already subscribing to cable or satellite TV. Right now I have no cable nor satellite nor even over-the-air TV so Hulu Plus and Netflix combined give me just about as much TV and movie watching as I need. Combine this with news and information over the internet (browser and podcasts) and I'm pretty much set for less than $55 per month (which includes my internet service).
As for the price reduction, that's nice but I won't pay $8/month for the random and very seldom opportunity to watch TV while mobile, it has to be offered on my big-screen TV -- which thankfully it is on the Sony PS3, so I'm keeping my Hulu subscription for that reason alone).
Given the ability to watch Hulu Plus on a regular TV I'd say that the new price is a relative bargain if you're not already subscribing to cable or satellite TV. Right now I have no cable nor satellite nor even over-the-air TV so Hulu Plus and Netflix combined give me just about as much TV and movie watching as I need. Combine this with news and information over the internet (browser and podcasts) and I'm pretty much set for less than $55 per month (which includes my internet service).
I'm not sure you know what the difference between hulu and hulu+ is. You don't pay for watching hulu while on a computer. You only have to use hulu + for 'mobile' devices.
Also I'm sure everybody's overblowing the whole ads situation. I hate Ads as much as the next guy but I realize it's important for all businesses and is a key part of growth. I'll deal with a few ads if it helps businesses and helps keep our capitalist economy growing.
Honestly I don't think these kids realize that those ads pay for the multi million dollar shows they are watching. They just want something for nothing yet again. What if the ads were for the iPad iPhone and MacBook air that apple air now? Would you all be complaining about them then?
But diddly squat for current TV. Not a replacement for cable. With HULUPlus, one could argue that it is a fairly decent replacement for cableTV. New shows, when you want them. Don't you think NetFlix would do this if they were allowed? Both are going after different markets.
Sure, all the shows are on various websites for free but it's not as easy as HULU plus built into your TV or Blu-Ray player (or maybe AppleTV?).
At some point, I can see real computers declining and LCD TVs coming with blue tooth keyboards for all the web apps. I currently have a Vizio with web apps and the remote has a slide out keyboard for facebook and twitter. Built into the TV is also Amazon, Netflix, eBay, Vudu, Pandora, etc. It may have basic email, I don't know. But for the casual user, it almost replaces a computer. If it had a decent real keyboard.
If it were that simple Netflix would stream new shows too without ads. They don't. They charge AND they don't have current shows. Nobody seems to be complaining about that.
Who needs TiVo?
You know, this HULU plus might be a good replacement for my TiVo. GASP! But seriously, at any moment I'd have more choices that I could ever keep on my TiVo. And it would go everywhere with me. Phone, TV, Computer. I pay TiVo 12.95 a freakin' month just for access to TV guide info to program it. I mean, REALLY. REALLY TiVo? And I had to buy a $400 TiVoHD which is falling apart a year later. REALLY!
Ok, so I won't be able to pause live TV and all that jazz, but still it has me thinking.
You know, this HULU plus might be a good replacement for my TiVo. GASP! But seriously, at any moment I'd have more choices that I could ever keep on my TiVo. And it would go everywhere with me. Phone, TV, Computer. I pay TiVo 12.95 a freakin' month just for access to TV guide info to program it. I mean, REALLY. REALLY TiVo? And I had to buy a $400 TiVoHD which is falling apart a year later. REALLY!
Ok, so I won't be able to pause live TV and all that jazz, but still it has me thinking.
Hulu Plus is also available on TVs (i.e. not just mobile) -- note the Hulu Plus service for the Sony PS3 and the Roku box (and more are coming). I have only one Hulu Plus subscription and it works both on my iPad and on the PS3.
As for the commercials, their mere existence doesn't bother me much because they are few and quite short. However, what does bother me is that the commercials are often inserted at very awkward moments -- sometimes right in the middle of dialog. What they need to do is overlay the Hulu-specific commercial breaks into the same points used in the original TV broadcasts (unless someone does a fast forward in the playback -- then insert one if the "standard" commercial break has been skipped). Right now the commercials are generally only 30 seconds per break but I would be okay with longer breaks if that would mean better continuity in the playback (but keeping the fewer overall commercials in comparison to broadcast TV).
The monthly $12.95 service charge for TiVo is an abomination for sure. Worse yet, they won't allow me to sign-up for a month-to-month plan, I have to commit for an entire year simply because at one point I stopped my TiVo service after I got my first cable-TV DVR (after I had been a "good" TiVo customer for several years). Then, on top of that they appear to purposely make it difficult to use the DVR functionality in a manual mode simply because you are no longer subscribing to their TV guide service. Contrast the TiVo customer service with Netflix, as Netflix not only allows month-to-month service but they even allow you to stop (or pause) the service if you know that you won't be using it for several days (like when you go on vacation). In any case, I think DVRs are a dead-end business model. In a few more years it will be on-demand streaming for just about everything.
You don't need Hulu to watch those shows, you can also go to the network's websites and watch there. You will also watch with ads. Netflix offers shows without any ads so they will not show the most recent episodes, but the content they have available for streaming is so vast!
Agreed, I watch Hulu (free version) on my MBP because it is convenient, the shows are in one place vs. going to each network's site, but their player is getting worse and worse, in addition to the issues with full screen, sometimes I get audio, sometimes not, the video hangs, the browser crashes, the list goes on and on. It is quite crazy when stupid Sliverlight is the better of the two players. It only hung briefly last week and Netflix gave us all a credit to compensate for the tech problems. Netflix's library gets better and better and movies and TV eps are getting into the streaming server faster and faster. I totally missed "Roswell" when it was on TV and am enjoying catching up with that show. And I can watch shows on my iPod Touch as well, it will remember my place in a show whether I watch part of it on the computer and then switch to watching on the iPod, it saves my place, that is pretty cool.
But, for the most current shows right now free Hulu is the easiest, but their dang player may cause me to just take the extra time to go to the various sites.
My hubby insists on satellite for sports, I do watch it because certain shows are not found anywhere on the internet including sites like Megavideo. Mostly shows on Food Network like Iron Chef, or Chopped. And on Bravo Top Chef is hard to find sometimes. But there is so much junk on the satellite now, tons of filler so it looks like they have more and more channels. However, satellite is so much better priced than Comcast, we were paying over $70 and that was not including internet (use ATT for that) Satellite is considerably less than that.