Hulu Raising Prices for On-Demand Plans to Push Subscribers to Bundle
Hulu today informed customers that it is planning to raise the price of its ad-supported and ad-free on-demand plans by $1, an increase that will impact both new and existing subscribers.
The ad-supported plan, which costs $5.99, is going up to $6.99 per month, while the ad-free plan will be priced at $12.99, up from $11.99. The pricing changes are set to go into effect on October 8.
Pricing on the Disney Bundle that includes access to Hulu ad-supported content, Disney+, and ESPN+ is not changing, and it will continue to be available for $13.99. The Disney Bundle with ad-free Hulu is still $19.99.
Now that there's a $1 price difference between the ad-free Hulu subscription and the lower tier Disney Bundle, customers may be more willing to choose the Disney bundle to get access to all three Disney streaming services. As Variety points out, the bundle now provides a 36 percent discount compared to separate subscriptions.
The Hulu + Live TV plans are also not changing in price at this time and continue to start at $64.99 per month.
Hulu has never before raised the price of its ad-supported tier, and in 2019, dropped the cost from $7.99 per month to $5.99 per month. Hulu is still competitively priced with Netflix, which is priced starting at $8.99 for a basic plan and goes all the way up to $17.99 per month for the premium tier.
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Top Rated Comments
I sure wish there was a company that offered one-stop-shopping for all these channels, a single bill each month, and a free set-top box for my TV...oh, wait a minute!
Seriously, the extreme balkanization of streaming video content providers is yet another example of how what's good for the entertainment business is bad for viewers. We've gone from one extreme, forced bundles of huge numbers of channels, to another extreme, where anything desirable requires another "exclusive" subscription.
Corporate greed never ceases to amaze. Charge more for the same service, year after year. Break up bundles to only come back to bundles. Eliminate ads to only reintroduce ads.
Per the article, "One of Hulu’s big selling points is that it’s the only service that gives viewers next-day access to current shows from each of the major U.S. broadcast networks." I use it for FX and NBC shows as well as some NBC, SNL, vintage stuff etc.