Hulu just announced their long anticipated subscription service, Hulu+. Let's just say, it's not going over very well. First off what is Hulu+? The popular internet video streaming site Hulu, which up until now has provided TV streaming over the internet and ad supported has announced a $9.99/month subscription service. For $9.99/month you get:
More Content – back episode of your favorite shows (in some cases entire past and current seasons)
More Devices – there's an App for the iDevices and there is support for internet enabled devices such as blu-ray players, various Samsung TV's and promised support for the Sony PS3, Xbox, Sony TVs/Blu-ray players and Vizio TVs/Blu-ray players.
Sounds good, but is it worth $9.99 a month?
In a word – NO! I could never see paying for this. I'm into TV, but as long as I have a Slingbox and can watch the shows I've already recorded on the go streaming from my own house over the internet at no additional cost, why would I pay a subscription fee to see "some" shows? Apparently I'm not alone. The Hulu+ App for iPhone/iPad is getting hammered in the reviews on the App Store for this very reason. Not only is Hulu wanting to charge for what you can already see streaming in Flash on their site, but they are going to still have Ads too!
Don't get me wrong. I have no problem paying for content and great technology. However, I can't see paying an additional $9.99 on top of everything else I pay for unless it was going to be a complete replacement or it offered something better like NO ADS!
I was excited to hear about Hulu coming to the iPad. But at 9.99… Ummm no thanks. I already pay for netflix. And netflix has TV as well… Ad free mind you. Maybe 2.99 a month. I’m already getting raped by Comcast for cable I never watch anyway.
How would Spotify compare?
The content is free on a desktop and the iPhone app is free but you have to subscribe for 9.99 EUROS a month to use it on iPhone.
I agree with you, but not with your poll question. Most of us are paying our television providers for this content, plus it has ads. So it’s not really free unless you’re using your own antenna. In any case, if I was a single guy who wanted to watch my tv on the go, on a small screen, and not watch any news or sporting events, then it would be a good option. But that’s a lot of ifs…
As someone who got rid of my cable service 2 years ago due to rising costs and the fact that I maybe watched 1-3 hours per week (that’s $7-$20/per hour I was paying if you break it down) , I found Hulu a great way to stay current on great shows like “The Simpsons”, “Modern Family”, “Family Guy”, “The Community”, and a few others. It never really bothered me that I could only access the 5 most recent episodes of those shows because unlike say “Mad Men” they were “stand-alone” episodes with no continuing story line in most cases. When I first learned that Hulu would be charging I knew it would be a disaster. I told myself that if it was a nominal fee ($3 or so) I would probably pay it to stay up on things. When I saw that it would be as much as my Netflix subscription without ANYWHERE CLOSE to the amount of content the other offers, I scoffed. If that’s what they want I have no problem walking away and never uttering the words Hulu again. A good business would have foreseen the need for this from the start and therefore charged accordingly from the get-go, maybe offering a promotion for a free month, but still letting the consumer know that a charge was inevitable…Instead to give us something for free and then change your tune is ridiculous.
I tell you what, if Hulu can work out a deal with the big cable networks and offer me the current seasons of “Mad Men”, “Dexter”, etc. and include that in my $9.99 a month, I’m on board (I hate people with loose lips ruining the surprises in shows I actually care to watch while on the long wait to DVD)…Otherwise I’m out the door!
If I already paid for cable TV (which would probably be $50-80 a month) then no, I would never pay for Hulu. But, since the only TV I watch is on Hulu and Netflix then yes! I would pay the extra $10 for enabling my Sony player to stream Hulu, have full seasons and also so I could watch it on my iPad.
It’s disappointing that we’re still going to see ads, but if I paid for cable I’d still have commercials anyways (granted I would DVR everything and fast-forward through them). It would be nice if they would limit the ads for paying customers … or give me live-streaming for sports or something like that. 🙂
No I would not pay. I have Comcast as my ISP. Hulu is a partnership of NBC, FOX, and ABC. Well, Comcast has a 51% ownership of NBC, which means they have a partial ownership of Hulu. I stopped using it when Comedy Central decided not have their shows in Hulu.