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Hulu Ends Free Streaming Service, Moves Free Stuff To Yahoo View (hollywoodreporter.com)
Hulu has inked a deal with Yahoo to provide free, ad-supported episodes of a range of TV shows. But Hulu also said Monday it will end free streaming service on its own platform as it is moving that to an all-subscription model. As part of its expanded distribution deal with Yahoo, which is launching Yahoo View, a new ad-supported TV streaming site with five most recent episodes of shows from ABC, NBC, and Fox among other networks. From an article on The Hollywood Reporter:Most of Hulu's free content has been fairly limited, restricted to what's known as the "rolling five," or the five most recent episodes of a current show -- content that typically becomes available eight days after it airs and is usually also available for free on broadcast networks' websites. For example, recent episodes of shows like America's Got Talent, South Park and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are currently available for free, while Hulu's slate of originals and high-profile exclusives remain behind the paywall. [...] Yahoo is launching the TV site a half-year after shuttering Yahoo Screen, the video service that offered up ad-supported episodes of original TV shows like Community, live streaming concerts and other clips. With View, however, Yahoo is focusing specifically on providing a destination for television to its audience, many of whom are still driven to Yahoo products via its highly trafficked homepage.
Away from Hulu. They used to get me watching ads, now they'll get nothing.
so desperate to still matter
Even more than the name Hulu did.
I suppose Verizon will learn this the hard way.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
I've been using it to mostly stream anime - Does that go to Yahoo too or fall under Hulu's subscription model?
Are they going to continue to show ads on their PAID SUBSCRIPTION service? Even the more expensive NO-ADS subscription service that still sells ads?
Is Yahoo's service still going to use Hulu's software to stream or has Yahoo come up with a whole new system?
And how many people can use the Hulu subscription simultaneously... :)
One can hope this will create competition between Comcast and Verizon that will make things more tolerable for the end user, but my hunch is otherwise.
Broadcast television (recorded personally) is still how I find it easiest to watch shows.
Yep, I never spell check.
More incorrect spellings can be found he
"ad-supported TV"
Suck. A. Dick.
Kodi is cross-platform. use it on anything.
Also, FUCK YOU FBI SLASHDOT.
The networks have been trying to get something to compete with Netflix for years and fortunately so far they have failed miserably. Amazon is doing well but they had to tie their service to their Prime subscription as an add-on to get the traction they now have. Even so I watch Netflix original shows 10 to 1 over Prime. If the RIAA/MPAA/Networks get a foothold you know they will do everything they can to close it off and jack up the price.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
I used to use it when it first started. It was easier and of course, I felt that I was "doing the right thing" as opposed to torrenting for TV shows. Then they went to the paid model. Wait a second, I have to pay... and watch commercials. When was that 2-3 years ago? Stopped watching Hulu. I used to 'make fun' of people at work who were paying for this. They want you to pay and watch commercials?! Hell, I can put an antenna on my TV and watch for "free." So yea, what does their user base (paying that is) really look like these days?
I was thinking of this in terms of news the other day. I am an admitted news junkie. And I've noticed that I don't even bother with the NYT or the WPost any more. I just jump over those bookmarks. Instead I use free sites where I can use adblocks. Not that I have an aversion to ads, just don't need all that crap running on my browser. I even paid for Sling for a couple of months so I could get CNN. But dropped it, after realizing I was paying 20 bucks a month for CNN, just wasn't worth it. Instead, I watch France24, DW and Sky News. Why, cause they don't charge me. So I don't watch the BIG news casters.
My real point? Not sure exactly.... But I drop the big casters trying to nickle and dime me, and get the free options. When it comes to TV shows, the point of Hulu (I would think) for the consumer, was to offer TV in a legal and easier to use fashion than torrenting. I'm back to the point where it's easier to pay for a proxy and torrent. What have the streamers learned, from what I can gather, not much.
They used to have complete series--with ads it was tolerable because it was free but available.
Then they stopped hosting complete series, and also started putting ads in their paid service--WTF--what are people paying for then?
Who-lose? You lose!
What could possibly be next? 3.2 beer?
Are they going to continue to show ads on their PAID SUBSCRIPTION service? Even the more expensive NO-ADS subscription service that still sells ads?
Yes, they will continue to have ads on their paid subscription service. It's all spelt out when you sign up.
Also, yes, they'll also have some commercials in programs that are required to have commercials under their no commercials service. This is a limitation from the content providers, not with Hulu deciding they want more ads to run. The shows that this affects are listed during signup for the no-commercial plan.
From their help: "In response to feedback from our viewers, we started offering a commercial free experience on Hulu. For a small number of shows, however, we have not obtained the rights to stream commercial free and they are not included in our No Commercials plan. You can still easily access these shows with a short commercial before and after each episode with no interruptions during the episode. Specific shows that still have commercials accessible through the No Commercials plan will be noted throughout the signup, switching and playback experience. While the list of shows may change, they are currently: Greyâ(TM)s Anatomy, Once Upon a Time, Marvelâ(TM)s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Scandal, Grimm, New Girl, and How To Get Away With Murder."
Bolded by me. The wording is not unclear and they don't pretend everything will have no commercials. What you're buying for $8 is Hulu Plus, the library they have with the ability to stream with commercials. Adding $4 to the plan to remove commercials gives you access to the entirety of the "No commercials" package, which does not included a whopping 7 shows.
What does watching those 7 shows give you in practice? Under Hulu+ you'll have a couple commercials prior to each show, with some in the middle of shows. Under Hulu+ and No Commercial plan you'll have one Commercial before the shows, none during and one after. Then when starting the next episode you'll have another before that one. If you click "Next episode" it counts as stopping watching that, so you'll skip the after commercial and just need to watch the before commercial.
TL;DR: I dropped cable and picked up Hulu+ No commercials and Netflix and haven't been happier with my TV Viewing in a long time. The only thing missing is sports, but there are subscriptions available for NFL now too if you're willing to not watch live.
Do you Gentoo!?
Nothing of value was lost.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
Sorry, bittorrent is still the best service going.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Television? Is that some new type of technology I haven't heard about yet?
My question is - did anyone actually know that Yahoo previously offered ad supported network shows? I literally have never heard any reference to it prior to this story.
What? You didn't know they were a huge force in online video? They bought broadcast.com from Mark Cuban for $5.7 billion. Surely that wasn't $5.7 billion wasted????
I have no desire to switch out of one app and into another while watching TV. Either put them together into one universal interface or expect monopolization.
They fell for the 'streaming TV' meme, LOL!
OTA broadcasts + TiVo + 30_second_skip_enabled = Free TV, no ads.
Oh, and by the way: You're paying for TV three times now: Pay for internet, pay for the streaming service, and be subjected to ads. Suckers!
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
//Also, yes, they'll also have some commercials in programs that are required to have commercials under their no commercials service. This is a limitation from the content providers, not with Hulu deciding they want more ads to run//
Although, considering that Hulu is owned by many of those content providers, it's a lame excuse.
Now you might have to read a book!
"many of whom are still driven to Yahoo products via its highly trafficked homepage." Crap, did I wake up in an alternate timeline again?
You have to pay, and watch commercials? WTF! I would pay, even a bit more, for no commercials whatsoever. I won't pay a single dime if I have to watch commercials.
I'm sure Mark Cuban is spending his 5.7Billion wisely.
some karma... and kinda lukewarm about it.
Do you have any idea why the rights holders for those few shows insist on commercials?
Unfortunately I have no inside knowledge, anything I say on that would be pure speculation. But, since this is slashdot, I'll speculate! Pulling things from my ass: they are popular shows and they charge a premium for commercials that the small split from the $4 doesn't cover, or possibly they were sold to the networks with a percentage of gross ad sales clause. I could see where they have "If viewed commercial-free pay X, if viewed with commercials, we get 1% of gross ad sales. They toss ads on and pay out of the gross of that instead of a flat fee."
Do you Gentoo!?
//It [Hulu] is a subsidiary of Hulu, LLC, a joint venture of The Walt Disney Company,[8] 21st Century Fox, Comcast and as of 2016, Time Warner through their Disney-ABC Television Group, Fox Broadcasting Company, NBCUniversal Television Group and Turner divisions//
IMHO, this is quite important to all these discussions regarding Hulu. Hulu isn't the same Hulu it was when it started. The primary stakeholders continue to change and shift, and their service changes appear to represent those influences. Their "free" (ad supported) service has never been offered on set top boxes, roku, playstation, xbox, android, etc. IMO, it more closely aligned with what people would want. The subset that hooked up computer up to their TV is relatively small, and they ignored that. Axing that set of their users is, IMO, finally casting off what they were. The argument that they couldn't offer the free service on set top boxes due to restrictions from the content providers is no longer significant because those content providers are the owners of the service.
They might have commercial free contracts with other vendors - typically pay services like Amazon (non-prime) and Apple. Although personally, the 30 second ads that run before/after hardly seem to make it worth paying extra for them, but it's probably just getting around wording in the contracts. I work in broadcast, and there are instances where we cannot give the same exact content we are showing on cable to streaming services, and it has to do with contracts we have with the cable companies. So, it really could be any number of things in various contracts. It sounds silly, but I will be willing to bet you'll see things change (for the better) as time goes on. Believe it or not, broadcasters know TV, as such, is a dying medium and we need to adapt to serving content the way the viewers want it, but you will see a lot of growing pains while existing contracts need time to die out, and you'll probably never get all you want from once service.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
After the recent switch from the simple, but useful Queue, to the obtuse nearly unusable WatchList system, Hulu is dead to me anyway. Hulu's leadership is completely out of touch with how power users used their service. I stopped using the "free" service the day WatchList replaced Queue, and my pay-for account will be closed soon too. I can get the content I'm interested in, in much more user friendly ways. It was a good 8 years or so though.
My question is - did anyone actually know that Yahoo previously offered ad supported network shows? I literally have never heard any reference to it prior to this story.
Yeah, I've known about it for two or three minutes now.
#DeleteChrome
I'll be damned if i can find a reliable way to watch amazon video on an android device.
Doesnt even work on a Kindle.
How does anybody use Hulu after they eliminated the queue???
Anyone that has experience with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu can easily tell which one is owned by TV companies using the same business model they were using before the internet.
Yahoo has given a mediocre performance it's entire existence. The only good thing Yahoo had "Launchcast Radio" they scuttled after a year or two.
I actually loved the original Hulu.
The idea that I could watch the latest five episodes of a TV show with associated commercials baked in (and unskipable) was quite nice. I certainly stopped pirating those shows.
The problem with Hulu was that they slowly made more of their stuff behind paywalls. This move to a different website is a good solution. Keep the free stuff on Yahoo and paywalled stuff on Hulu.
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
Other Space was good. It's the only thing I ever watched on Yahoo.
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Sorry but you're either naive or sound like a shill for Hulu. You realize that Hulu is Comcast, Time Warner, Disney, Fox, and NBC all rolled up into one?
Of course they want to keep commercials in. They have no incentive to keep them out because there's folks willing to pay for a service that includes commercials...just like cable.
Bottom line...how is Hulu any different than cable?
I wanted premium service, access to their entire catalog, and most importantly - NO ADS. They failed to deliver that experience, and I cancelled the same day. I still use Netflix, but if they ever start showing ads, I'll kick them to the curb just as quickly. I hardly watch anything anymore...saving $10 a month would probably be better for me anyway.
It's cheaper, more convenient, and has way fewer commercials.
Seriously? No one gives a fuck what you think about anything... not even your boyfriend when he's pounding you up the ass.
Sorry but you're either naive or sound like a shill for Hulu. You realize that Hulu is Comcast, Time Warner, Disney, Fox, and NBC all rolled up into one? Of course they want to keep commercials in. They have no incentive to keep them out because there's folks willing to pay for a service that includes commercials...just like cable. Bottom line...how is Hulu any different than cable?
I might, or I might just be happy with the product and willing to pay for it. If you go back far enough in my comment history I'm sure you'll think I'm a shill for TiVo as well because it allows me to timeshift and 30 second skip through commercials.
Bottom line...hulu is different from cable in many ways.
1: You can watch what you want when you want instead of on the networks schedule.
2: It's cheaper by a factor of 10 ($12 instead of $120).
3: Has *WAY* fewer commercials with the No-Commercials plan
4: Doesn't have sports
I find I need to mix Hulu Plus No Commercials and Netflix to get the majority of what I want to watch. I'm very likely going to add in Youtube Red for another $5/month.
I've wanted commercial free television for a long time. Now that companies are charging an affordable rate for an adequate service, I'm willing to pay for it. I get that others don't want to, or think that paying for the cheapest plan should get them all the benefits. That's not how the world works. I vote for services with my wallet, and in doing so I'm saving at least $65/month on television.
Does that make me a shill? Definition is: an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others. I'm not an accomplice or affiliated with Netflix, Hulu, Tivo or Youtube, just a happy customer of all. (Although my TiVo is currently powered down to not having cable).
Do you Gentoo!?
When I last tried to use that service, most of the content was not available on the paid variant. What was on it had a bigger back catalog, but was too infested with commercials to be viable. I understand you can pay 50% more to reduce, but not eliminate, the commercials now. But did they ever get all the content moved over to the pay service? Otherwise dropping the free service seems brain dead, even for Hulu.
What I get trying to go to https://view.yahoo.com/ Tim S. Your connection is not secure The owner of view.yahoo.com has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website.
Bizarre that Grimm is included, since the first 4 seasons are commercial free on Amazon Prime Video. (..and presumably the 5th season will be added sometime around the beginning of the new TV season, which has happened for the previous seasons.)
In other words, it's weird that the different streaming services have such a different experience with the same show.
and current Tivos (Roamio and above) have a feature where you skip the entire commercial break _for a significant number of shows_ (but definitely not all) just by hitting one key when the commercial break starts.
Cable is overpriced, but even with HD it should be no more than $60-$70 for basic cable, not $120. And Hulu Plus doesn't even get you shows from AMC, USA, etc. You can always buy individual episodes on Amazon or iTunes, but it gets expensive if there's more than a couple shows that you want to watch as they come out (instead of waiting for Netflix/DVD).
And last I checked, Youtube Red is $10/month, not $5. It does include a Google Play Music subscription though.
Right now, I'm paying $12 for Hulu and $10 for Netflix = $22/month, plus I have free trials for Youtube Red ($10) and HBO Go ($15). I'll probably drop Red and HBO when the trials are over because there's only a couple shows there that I watch.
Nothing to see here now move along.
Easy, they insist on being paid more than their tiny sliver of the $12 subscription is worth. They are high-value series with dedicated fan bases. Hulu is just passing the blame with lawyer approved verbiage.
I think this a good move for hulu.
Adam Personal Holiday Planner
I had no trouble with the Yahoo name. The Verizon name, on the other hand, is a problem...
Not quite true. Back when the internet was still small enough that a human-curated directory was feasible, Yahoo did a good job of it. That was their original claim to fame. Unfortunately, time and technology left that model behind, and Yahoo has always been a me-too player in most other services. Their strong sports site is a notable exception, and Yahoo Groups is a useful service that doesn't have any direct equivalent at any other major provider.
Guess I'm telling my ancient age, but I remember when CABLE was advertised as 'no commercials' -lol-
redneck geek
Fans of Community were well aware--after NBC cancelled it a second (third?) time after the fifth season, Yahoo! picked up for the sixth and final season. (A recurring joke/plea was #SixSeasonsAndAMovie) That and Other Space were probably the only somewhat-known content it had.