Hulu cuts Plus price to $8 a month

November 17, 2010 By Jeffrey Van Camp

Hulu is taking Plus out of beta, launching it on new devices, and lowering its price to $8 a month, says CEO Jason Kilar.

It isn’t the $5 some thought, but Hulu is lowering its prices. The streaming company is taking Hulu Plus out of beta and lowering its price from $10 to $8 per month, CEO Jason Kilar said in a blog post. No official reason for the price drop was given, but speculation points to low demand at the $10 price and a lack of compelling differentiation between standard, free Hulu and the premium Plus. Current subscribers will get a $2 credit for the month and updates to the PS3, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Samsung Hulu Plus apps will be available this weekend.

“Hulu Plus is now available on devices that have an installed base of over 50 million,” said Kilar. “Today, Hulu Plus launches on Roku. All PlayStation 3 owners with a PlayStation Network account, which is free, can download the Hulu Plus application. In the months to come, Hulu Plus will be coming to Internet-connected Vizio, LG Electronics, and Panasonic Blu-ray players and HDTVs; TiVo Premiere DVRs; the Xbox 360; and Western Digital’s WD TV Live Hub Media Center and WD TV Live Plus Network Media Player, with many more mobile phones, tablets, set-top boxes, and Internet-connected devices to be announced.”

Touting the official launch of Plus, Kilar also announced several promotions. All new subscribers will get a week free, including those who joined during the beta phase, who will receive a credit for one week on their next bill. Subscribers who refer a friend to the TV service will get two weeks free, as will the friend. Finally, those who purchase a Sony Bravia TV or Blu-ray player will get 11 weeks free, and those who buy a Roku box will get one month of free service.

Hulu is a joint venture between ABC, NBC, and Fox. The site hosts new episodes of current shows on network and cable television. It’s biggest rival is Netflix, which is a movie and TV streaming site, but only gets TV shows after they’ve been released on DVD.

Hopefully the updates will fix glaring inconsistencies between standard Hulu.com and the Plus service. Several shows and films are available for free, but not on Plus. NBC’s Community is one example. The service has also seen posting delays from major shows last week. Though new episodes are supposed to stream the day after broadcast, several series, including Modern Family, have delayed episode postings. If Hulu is to offer a competitive paid service, it needs to ensure its content providers are consistent providers, one way or another.

Does the $2 discount make Hulu Plus more appealing to you?

Showing 13 comments

lusid at 11:04am 12th December 2010 I would pay $8, if it really was Hulu Plus. The App(s) are great, the content is Aweful. The iPad apps looks great, its easy to use. The PS3 app supports HD streams and closed captioning, no problem with the apps. The problem? NONE of the first run shows I'm watching on Hulu are available on Hulu Plus! They cleverly omit them from the show listing, and when you search by title you get a little box that says "web only". Click on that, you get a popup the reads: This show is available online at hulu.com through your computer web browser. We do not have the rights to make it available on your iPad at this time. We'll continue to work on clearing it for streaming on your iPad. Wait, now, isn't that what the BETA was for? I'd understand if I was on a beta and they were still clearing rights to show, but its not beta anymore. They shouldn't have taken it out of beta if they didn't have rights to run the current shows.
NotPaying8 at 8:18pm 10th December 2010 I might pay $4 or $5 per month, not $8 (or $7.99 as if that mattered).
Extendedp at 7:53pm 2nd December 2010 Hulu Plus is terrible. There are many, many commercials in a single episode of a TV show. I am not paying for a service like Hulu and watching tons of commercials... make up your mind Hulu, either it's free with some commercials, or it's a pay service without ads. Hulu Plus doesn't even offer shows from Showtime, HBO or IFC, etc.. The current programming they do offer, you can watch on the web for free anyway, stuff like The Office. I have a DVR and Netflix, I don't need Hulu Plus.
Tuan at 7:22am 24th November 2010 Facts are facts and people are people. People get use to be cheated by commercial tactic which shave a penny to psychologically perceive as cheaper. This is 2010 its not 1810 where the penny have a use. Today penny dont even worth the metal it mint on. If you melt and sell your penny it would get you ~2.5 times the face value which still worth nothing. A penny is worthless now so for all practical purpose-and avoiding cheap tactic facts- $7.99 and $8 are practically THE SAME. This is a fact. He essentially did not rewrite the price. Stop the stupid tactic which show how gullible American are are since we are the country that invented this.
Moew at 8:50am 17th November 2010 When did bloggers get the right to rewrite what other companies are charging? I'm not calling the author a journalist, as they would not have made that fatal mistake. Doesn't matter what I perceive it as, or what you perceive it as; unless it was stated that way. Even the blog linked to, which could have been a source for $8, actually states $7.99. Facts are facts, not an artistic license!
linuxwolf at 7:47am 17th November 2010 Is it commercial free? That's the only way I'd consider paying.
DaveDog at 7:44am 17th November 2010 $7.99, $8.00, what's the difference? Still $8.00 in my mind. I'm stoked about Hulu Plus coming to the Roku. I tested Hulu Plus a month or so ago and it was decent, however I could get to most of the content on my PC without having a Plus account. The trade off for me is I'll be able to watch Hulu content in my bedroom now without having a PC.
@juanmlopez at 7:43am 17th November 2010 it's not that appealing, as I agree with other comments about the "Plus" feature not being plus - however I'll see if I try it!
Kenn at 7:42am 17th November 2010 Why would I pay $8.00 a month for low video quality and commercials?
Jason M. at 7:42am 17th November 2010 I won't pay for commercials. Give me a $20 plan with no commercials and I'll happily pay for it.
kwbarrett at 8:39am 17th November 2010 One word, NO. I have blogged about my biggest problem with Hulu Plus. If you're going to call it Hulu Plus, it should be something more than just Hulu. Problem is, it's not. In fact not everything already available on Hulu is available on Hulu Plus. How much sense does that make?!?!? Why can I watch Warehouse 13 or Law and Order: Los Angeles, or Undercovers, or Human Target on Hulu on my laptop, but not on Hulu Plus on my iPad? But I can watch an episode of Super Structures of the World from 2000 on Hulu Plus?!? Hulu Minus is more appropriate. Hulu Plus should be an enhanced experience compared to what is currently on standard Hulu.
Moew at 7:33am 17th November 2010 $7.99, not $8.00. When did bloggers get the right to rewrite what other companies are charging?
1. @JeffreyVC at 8:34am 17th November 2010 $7.99 is only the price because all companies deceptively make things appear slightly cheaper by shaving off a single penny from the price. I chose to write $8 because really, that's the price. The bigger question is, when did everyone else start going along with saying something is $999.99 when it's really $1000?