Ad-Free Version of Hulu Plus Might Happen
Ad-Free Version of Hulu Plus Might Happen
Posted 07/08/2010 at 3:13pm
| by Ryan Whitwam
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Many felt some disappointment in learning that Hulu's $10 a month premium service would still show ads to users. Those individuals may have reason for hope today as Hulu's CEO, Jason Kilar, has said that an ad-free version of the service is a possibility. While nothing is official, Kilar seemed sympathetic to customer concerns.
Hulu is offering an increased selection of video, and access from other devices to justify the $10 fee. Kilar pointed out to NewTeeVee that there are many business models for online video distribution. It did seem clear, however, that any ad-free Hulu would cost more than the current $10 subscription. So we have to wonder, would you pay more to ditch the ads? We're a little skeptical many people would go for it.
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Mark17
July 08, 2010 at 5:43pm
That's still too expensive for my tastes. They should make the cost lower (at least make it cheaper than Netflix), remove the ads, and increase the amount of content available (much more than what's available with their new premium service). Then I would definitely consider it.
mesiah
July 08, 2010 at 8:26pm
I second this. $9.99 is too much considering what netflix offers. You have to consider, what is the difference between netflix and Hulu+
What netflix doeas that hulu+ doesn't:
- Netflix offers hard copies of movies and previous TV seasons at no additional cost.
- Netflix does not have commercials.
- Netfilx basic account is $2 cheaper.
- Netflix currently has a wider movie selection.
- Streams to TiVo and Wii
What hulu+ does that netflix doesn't"
- Offers Complete current season episodes for most shows.
- Streams to apple products
Once you account for the fact that you can get the last 5 episodes of each show for free on standard hulu, the only benefit over netflix is being able to access previous episodes from the current season and stream to your ipad. Based on ATT data rates, you aren't going to stream too many HD videos to your ipad unless you are at home on wifi, in which case you would be better off watching it on a television.
I just don't see how they can justify the $10 price, with or without commercials. $5 is the sweet spot for a service like this. Maybe an additional $2 if you want commercials to be removed. Personally I would pay $5 and keep the commercials. But at $10 I am far better off staying with netflix and using the combination of TiVo + free hulu for current episodes.
w2ed
July 08, 2010 at 4:47pm
I think once you start paying for the service - whether it's $10 or a hundred, both of which I feel is too much for their content - it should automatically be ad-free. Hulu, however, has done enough to make sure I won't be wasting my time with them, and I certainly won't be paying for it. Too bad they're screwing up a novel idea.
Havok
July 08, 2010 at 3:34pm
Seeing as how I'm Canadian and Hulu has boned us north of the border out of their content, do ads play through out the shows? or just at the beginning/end?
YES! This post made it through the Spam Filter!
mesiah
July 08, 2010 at 5:31pm
Hulu generally has about 5 commercial breaks durring a 1 hour show. In the past each break has consisted of one 15 or 30 second commercial. Recently they have been sneaking 2 commercials in from time to time. Either way, its much less than the 3 minute commercial breaks on regular television.
jgraves000
July 08, 2010 at 4:32pm
Normally the ads play just like commercials, usually 3 to 4 per half hour show. Sometimes theres a longer ad at the beginning and then its ad free. They still don't offer enough content for me to justify paying, and of the shows that I watch, I feel they don't update or change the episodes very often, so i end up with nothing to watch.
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