It’s beginning to seem like every move on the digital front this year is credited to plans to compete with Netflix.
Hulu is no different, with rumored plans to launch an ad-free service as early as this fall to fight the fellow streaming platform.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Hulu’s ad-free service would be priced around $12 per month, slightly costlier than its $8 monthly Hulu Plus subscription.
Netflix is currently $7.99 per month for its most basic plan, and Amazon Prime Instant Video is $99 per year, so Hulu would be placed slightly higher than both in its new proposed plan.
But Hulu’s ad-free option could at least put the service on a level playing field with the other two platforms, which both avoid advertising and use the absence of ads as key selling points. Hulu’s user base hovers at around 9 million in 2015, up from 6 million last year, which competes with Netflix’s 65 million worldwide subscriber base.
Hulu would also still keep its ad-supported platform, an attractive option for networks and studios, while offering the new price point for users who want a more premium choice for streaming. In fact, its proposed price point might be higher than competitors in order to discourage all of its users to switch over, keeping some viewers with the original service.
This year has seen an influx of new programming for the service, with its deal for Seinfeld episodes, Fox’s Mindy Project and deals with AMC, FX, Time Warner and Discovery.
Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
Brief Take: Hulu’s programming deals might be key to its next step as ad-supported and ad-free platforms, trying to attract streaming fans to join its user base, even if that means they have Netflix and Amazon as well.
[Image courtesy of Hulu]
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