Hulu Plus Subscriptions Coming In May
They have been threatening it for a long time, but now it looks like Hulu are ready to start charging a subscription for internet tv, and the charge could be implimented by as early as May say sources. But clever as Hulu are, they are still keeping a free option for some content and hitting consumers with a charge for additional streaming. According to the LA Times the the new ‘Hulu Plus’ is expected to be $9.95 per month.
Hulu want your money
But will the consumer who have lapped up the free tv service be willing to shell out their hard earned cash for online tv? Persuading viewers to pay for content that they have long grown accustomed to getting for free may not be so easy. “Going from free to paid is one of the hardest challenges that any company ever faces,” said Will Richmond, an analyst at VideoNuze, a site that covers the online video industry. “It’s a lot easier to go from paid to free than go from free to paid.”
Hulu who have declined to comment on the proposed charges are looking to also extpand their online tv service onto a myriad of set-top boxes and other portable devices, like the new Apple iPad and iPhone, Xbox and PS3.
Hulu have been caught in a sticky wicket recently, wanting to stay true to its ideals as a free tv portal. But also pressurised by the TV network paymasters to make them more revenue. The 2 year old website has generated over $100 million in revenue in q4 of 2009 from advertising revenue, but this is a drop in the ocean compared to traditional tv advertising revenue
Existing Hulu fans are up in arms about the expected charges and are threatening to go back to pirating movies and shows if they cannot continue to watch free online. Then of course, Hulu would be in direct competition with movie streaming service Netflix, who offers unlimited movie/tv shows via instant streaming and DVDs by mail. Redbox are also looking to enter the streaming market, so Hulu could have their work cut out.
More worrying is that this move could be the beginning of the end of free online tv. Other networks that are currently free may want in on the pay to view action.
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