Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Hulu cuts Plus price to $8 a month

By
hulu-plus-official-launch-free-trial-8-dollars
Image used with permission by copyright holder

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.”

Recommended Videos

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?

Topics
Jeffrey Van Camp
Jeffrey Van Camp
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…
Dell’s XPS 13 for $599 deal is back, and who knows for how long
The Dell XPS 13 in front of a window.

Dell almost always has great laptop deals and for a little while now, it’s been selling an older model of the Dell XPS 13 for just $599. That deal continues today but we’re really not sure how long it’s going to stick around for. It feels like it must be ending very soon. The laptop usually costs $799 so you’re saving $200 but overall, this is a fantastic deal for the hardware involved. If you’re keen to learn more before the deal ends, keep reading.

Why you should buy the Dell XPS 13
Dell is one of the best laptop brands out there so you simply can’t go wrong with purchasing from it. With this model, you get a 12th-generation Intel Core i5-1230U processor along with 8GB of memory and 256GB of SSD storage. There’s also a 13.4-inch full HD+ screen with 1920 x 1200 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and anti-glare properties. That’s fairly standard stuff at this price but it’s the build quality of the Dell XPS 13 which makes it stand out so much.

Read more
M4 vs. M3: How much better are Apple’s latest chips?
An official rendering of the Apple M4 chip.

Apple has announced the M4 chip, its successor to the M3 that’s currently found in a bunch of Macs and iPads. The M3 is an excellent chip and a real leap above the M2 that came before it, so the question is whether the M4 can manage a similar feat.

Right now, the M4 is only in the iPad Pro, and that means information about how good it is and what it does is rather limited. But if you’re interested in finding out more, you’re in luck, as we’ve gathered up everything we know about Apple’s M4 chip and compared it side by side with the M3. If you want to learn more about Apple’s next chip -- and how it compares to the M3 -- read on.
Where can you find these chips?

Read more
iMac deals: New, renewed and refurbished iMac computers
Apple iMac with Retina 5K Display review close

If you're in the Apple ecosystem and need a desktop computer rather than something like a MacBook, then you'll want to go for the Apple iMac, which is one of the best all-in-one computers on the market. There are quite a few screen sizes and specs to pick from, and if you're willing to go for a renewed option, you can get some older yet still powerful iMacs for a great price with desktop deals. Even if you aren't, there are still some great Apple deals you can take advantage of to save yourself some money, which is why we went out and scoured the internet for the best deals we could find. If you need something portable, check out MacBook deals. For extra savings, check out refurbished MacBook deals.
Apple 21.5-inch iMac (2018) Renewed -- $409, was $460

Even cheaper than any of the MacBook deals going on, this Apple 21.5-inch iMac (2018) might be a few years old but it offers plenty of juice for the price. That's the beauty behind many iMacs -- they last a long time thanks to offering reliable hardware and the benefits of MacOS, which tends to mean they stay fast for awhile. In the case of the 2018 21.5-inch iMac, you get a 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor paired up with 16GB of memory which is a great set of specs for ensuring you can get plenty of work done.

Read more