Hulu Lowers Prices After Netflix Raises Theirs (variety.com)

Coincidentally, as Netflix raised their prices last week, Hulu decided to lower theirs. The streaming service is now offering a plan, which includes commercials, for $5.99 per month for the first year -- a short-term promotion aimed at luring new subs with the kickoff of the fall television and Hulu's expanded TV library lineup. Variety reports: Hulu's special offer for the limited-commercials plan is available through Jan. 9, 2018, only to new or returning Hulu subs. After one year, the regular $7.99 monthly price will kick in. Hulu offers a commercial-free option for $12 per month, and a live TV service (which includes access to original series like Emmy-winning "The Handmaid's Tale" and on-demand titles) for $40 monthly. A Hulu rep said the company's new promo is intended to draft off the fall 2017 TV season. As it looks for another original series on the order of "Handmaid's Tale" -- so far its only breakout hit -- Hulu has inked deals to bring thousands of current and older TV shows to the platform to armor-up in its battle with rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Comments

Lower?

[Quirkz]

I'm sorry, but "new promotional rates" is not lowering prices.

1. It doesn't reduce anything for anyone who is already paying.
2. It's a promotional rate. The regular rate is the same.

So, it's a temporary sale to lure in new subscribers. That's different.

Re:Lower?

[DontBeAMoran]

Lowering prices means lower prices for everyone. That is clearing not the case here.

Re:Lower?

[JohnFen]

No, Quirkz is correct: a temporary promotional price is not a "lowered price" in the commonly understood sense. It's a "sale price".

Re:Lower?

[rtb61]

I don't understand people who pay for commercial, pay for someone to enter their lounge room and scream at them about shit they don't want. Once you start going largely commercial free, those commercial when you occasionally come across, come across as extremely aggressive and loud, hugely undesirable and really put you off products. There are products they I totally avoid as a result of aggressive commercial placement and a very loud and aggravating style. If people behaved like commercial did, wander into your house to demand you buy product, would you tolerate it or would you throw them out. I can not understand why people think they will be able to sell me product by actively trying to force me to watch their POS commercials. Every time I buy stuff, I check other people's NEGATIVE opinions an reviews of the product, fuck you commercials, you live or die on how badly you have treated existing customers, that is it.

Seems only fair

[PopeRatzo]

which includes commercials, for $5.99 per month for the first year

I pay $5.99 for the privilege of watching your commercials?

Tell you what, I'll sign up when the CEO of Hulu comes and sucks my hairy balls. And I'll only charge him $5.99 and he has to listen to me talk about my fantasy football team and the cute thing my cat did. For three hours. While he sucks my hairy balls.

Honestly, the cheek of these bastards. Do they not know how the whole idea of "commercials" works?

apples and oranges?

[Anonymous Coward]

To even mention the limited commercials price is extremely misleading.

What I see in the article is that Netflix offers a $7.99 / month plan for a single stream non-HD commercial-free stream or $10.99 / month for the standard HD plan, and Hulu's lowest commercial free option is apparently $12 / month.

So, the article says Hulu is more expensive than Netflix unless you're willing to listen to commercials at which time it becomes the same price as the lowest price commercial-free Netflix plan (after the bait-and-switch promotion completes).

Stick your commercials you know where

[OneHundredAndTen]

Hulu would have to pay me $5.99 a month.

And I will continue paying for Netflix

[No Longer an AC]

But I will never pay for Hulu.

Netflix isn't perfect and the price increase is mildly annoying I guess. One more dollar a month? I can deal with it. Hulu with no commercials is still more expensive and I still haven't finished watching everything I want to watch on Netflix.

And compared to what I was paying for cable before I cut the cord it's completely insignificant.

But why is Netflix raising their prices by a whole dollar considered news anyway?

Is it news when Comcast raises the price of their service by more than that or when they drop a bunch of channels from the basic plan?

One thing that's great about Netflix is I know how much it will cost from month to month and if there's ever a price increase Slashdot or some other internet news will warn me about it - lord knows Netflix never talks to me. I don't even know if they have a current email address.

But with cable TV you never know what your monthly bill will be and if they tell you one price you know they're neglecting a bunch of add-on fees and it will go up or channels will be removed.

With Netflix, I guess I'll lose Disney movies but I haven't even mustered up the patience to watch that Star Wars movie that's on Netflix because there's other stuff I'd rather watch.